Cincinnati — After a hard-fought loss this season, Taft High’s football program says it was publicly smeared with false accusations and left without support from local agencies.
Assistant coach Danny Seafler blasted news outlets and social media for spreading what he calls slander, saying the team, coaches, and players were unfairly blamed for damage and violent behavior they did not commit.
“We suffered a tough loss with some of the most controversial calls I’ve seen as a coach,” Seafler wrote.
After the game, the head coach gathered the team and stressed perspective and character, “that you need to take every day as a blessing,” and that many players will go on to be “doctors, lawyers, teachers and NFL players.”
Players then met with coaches and went to the locker room. That’s when, Seafler says, the athletic director told them another school’s AD was accusing Taft of causing holes in a visiting locker room.
Many Individuals are left Shocked
“One of our coaches say they took pictures before the game and they were time stamped. The damage was already there,” Seafler wrote.
Still, social posts and news coverage blamed Taft, and Seafler says Child Protective Services did not back the team when the accusations spread.
The situation inflamed online with racist comments and threats directed at coaches and players, an ugly backlash, Seafler says, that exposes deeper problems.
“Being a white man coaching for an all-black team, I will tell you people forget you’re white real quick,” he wrote.
Seafler called out what he sees as a pattern: bad calls by referees in past years, officials moving the ball, and media framing that turns complex games into sensational headlines.
“I’m done being silent,” he added, defending Head Coach Tyler Williams as “a leader, a father, [and] husband” who has built a standard at Taft and holds “the most wins in school history.”
Community reaction on social media has been overwhelmingly supportive. Danny Yargo posted, “Proud of you, brother. You guys had a heck of a season,” while Karyn Baugh wrote, “We stand with you and Taft Senators Football Team.”
Others demanded accountability from media outlets: “The apology needs to be just as loud as the accusation!” wrote Nalisha Marie, calling for retractions from stations that presented the claims as fact.
Some commenters urged solidarity and action. Jody Brandon asked whether other teams could boycott the school that was accused of spreading the story.
Lea B. Croley noted a video allegedly showing the boys arriving and the damage already present, writing, “The video has been floating around…yet no apologies…Typical.”
Seafler and supporters are asking for two things: the truth to come out, and an apology from outlets and individuals who presented allegations as fact.
For now, Taft’s coaches and players are left to pick up the pieces of a season that included strong performances on the field and, off it, a fight for fairness and respect.
“If someone of the same race that claims to bleed green and gold don’t respect our school enough to stick up for us, then how do you expect the non-blacks to?”
Nalisha Marie wrote. The sentiment echoed across the thread: pride in the team, anger at the smear, and a demand for accountability.
