Cigars smoked by suspended Ipswich lacrosse players were real, school officials say
The cigars that several Ipswich High School lacrosse players were photographed smoking last week, leading to their suspension and the forfeiture of a playoff game, were in fact real, not fake as some parents claimed, school officials said Friday.
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In a statement, Ipswich Schools Superintendent Brian J. Blake and Ipswich High Principal Jonathan Mitchell also essentially accused parents of orchestrating a coverup with a false claim that the cigars contained chamomile and English breakfast tea rather than tobacco, which violates state athletic guidelines.
“In support of this claim administrators were shown a receipt from Shaw’s grocery store,” the administrators said.
On Thursday, “in light of the uproar generated in the media,” Mitchell visited that store “to see if employees could reproduce a receipt of the tea purchases that went into the purportedly fake cigars, administrators said.
A manager produced a receipt indicating the purchases were made shortly after 1 p.m. on June 8, roughly 20 minutes after Mitchell had alerted six families by email about the potential rules violation and “impending” probe, administrators said.
The “receipt allegedly supporting the claim that they were filled with tea had the date and time smudged out,” administrators said.
Photos also suggested the cigars were real, administrators said, offering their version of events in a back-and-forth youth sports controversy that has sparked intense debate.
“The first photograph — and the only one of the two which apparently was provided to the media — showed the boys holding full length cigars with the cigar bands visible,“ administrators said. ”The second photograph, which apparently was not provided to the media, showed the cigars smoked down significantly; a cloud of smoke surrounding one of the students; and a torch-type lighter visible in the hand of another of the students.”
The administrators lowered the boom on the morning of June 9, the day of the scheduled postseason game.
“When district administrators met on the morning of June 9 to review the evidence they had obtained, it was determined that the cigars were in fact not ‘fake,’ as they had been told,” the statement said. “The administrators concluded that there had been a violation of the Chemical Health Policy, which requires suspension, and the families of the six members were informed that they were suspended for the Semifinal game.”
The officials also said the suspensions had left the lacrosse team with just 11 players for the June 9 playoff game, since three additional players who weren’t suspended opted not to play in solidarity with those who were disciplined.
The sport requires 10 players on the field at all times except for “man down” penalty situations, and the 11 players that remained available for the game voted “overwhelmingly” to forfeit, administrators said.
“We fully understand the disappointment, frustration, and emotions that have accompanied this outcome,” administrators said. “As educators and school leaders, we are always disappointed when we must make difficult decisions such as this.”
The administrators’ statement came after police body camera footage showed a tense meeting Tuesday between Mitchell and fathers of two suspended players.
In the video taken at about 10:15 a.m. at the school, John Gianakakis and Drew Wile pressed Mitchell for an explanation after several players were ruled ineligible. Mitchell called police shortly after 10 a.m. and asked for an officer to respond to the main office “ASAP,” according to a police report. The officer wrote that when he reached the office he saw Gianakakis and Wile speaking with Mitchell, and Mitchell “indicated that he wanted me to enter and join the meeting.”
“Both were noticeably upset by the ruling and wanted to vent and be heard by Mitchell,” the report stated.
Mitchell told the parents that he, along with Blake and Athletic Director Tom Gallagher, reviewed evidence before reaching a decision.
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“I’m very disappointed to have to do this, but I’m doing my job,” Mitchell tells the parents in the video. “How do we enforce the rules? I can’t just look the other way. We’ve got more evidence that says they did it than not.”
Gianakakis and Wile argued that the school failed to consider the evidence they provided or their explanation that the cigars were made as props. They also contended the players were being punished too harshly for what they described as a graduation tradition.
“It’s a fake cigar, it’s been proven,” Gianakakis said during the exchange. “Now you’re telling all us parents, all us adults … that we’re liars.”
Wile accuses Mitchell of initially indicating the players would be allowed to play before reversing course after Blake became involved.
“You were totally letting these kids play till you got bullied,” Wile says. “Yes or no?”
Mitchell denies the decision was made lightly. He says he brought in Blake and Gallagher because of the magnitude of the situation.
“This is a huge decision, I’m not going to make it solo,” Mitchell says. “So I bring in the superintendent because I trust his wisdom. I bring in the athletic director because he’s always been by my side. And we talked about it for the last two days.”
The meeting grew more heated, with the parents arguing the decision would devastate the players and put younger athletes in a difficult position if the team tried to play without the suspended seniors.
“Everybody had their due process,” Mitchell says. “We looked at the evidence. We made a final determination. That’s the end of the story.”
Gianakakis’s son, Nick Gianakakis, 18, said Wednesday that the cigars contained no tobacco.
“They burnt quick because it was tea grinds, there was no tobacco, and so they burnt quick and they were all falling apart from the wind and they were wrapped horrible, and they just smelled horrible,” he said.
Wile couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Friday, and John Gianakakis referred questions to his lawyer, Marc J. Randazza, who when reached by email said, “We don’t really trust the Globe.”
The school administrators, meanwhile, framed the episode as a lesson for the suspended youngsters.
“One of the most important lessons we teach young people is that choices have consequences, even when those consequences are difficult or painful,” the administrators said Friday. “While this outcome was heartbreaking for the student-athletes, their families, their coaches, and our school community, we remain committed to applying our policies consistently and acting in what we believe to be the best interests of the integrity of our educational and athletic programs.”
Material from prior Globe stories was used in this report. This story will be updated when more information is released.
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