Folsom player apologizes and resigns from football team after social media racial chats
What started as jovial social media Snapchat private messages between friends turned sour when the dialogue included the use of a shotgun in a show of strength and racial epithets, including the N word.
Some of those troubling comments made by Folsom High School all-Sierra Foothill League lineman JJ McMahon became public when shared on other social media platforms by those he offended. The fallout is a striking reminder of how insensitive words can hurt in light of the George Floyd movement across the country regarding social injustice and police brutality – and how such behavior by a 4.0-GPA student can derail college football hopes and tarnish a reputation in a flash.
McMahon issued a statement on his Twitter page on Thursday evening that he would be “stepping down my senior year from football” in apologizing for “my insensitivity, ignorance and overall lack of understanding of the weight of my words and actions.” McMahon in the post also apologized to the people he directed the Snapchat messages to, including a teammate, with additional apologies to Folsom High, the Folsom community and his own family.
This is the first known public “resignation” of sorts by a high school student-athlete in California. McMahon posted his apology in an effort to own up to his actions and to not hide from them, according to his father, John McMahon.
The colleges that were recruiting McMahon have since pulled scholarship offers. Oregon State football dismissed freshman Rocco Carley on Wednesday after a racist audio recording from three year earlier surfaced on Twitter. Carley also apologized for his actions.
Father speaks
John McMahon is not sure where his son will attend high school this fall, but he is confident that his son will learn and grow from all of this.
“We’re not making excuses,” McMahon said in a long conversation with The Sacramento Bee. “My son feels awful. He’s remorseful. He’s not in a good place. ... We’re dealing with death threats. ... He has a better understanding now.”
The father added, “Sometimes when kids interact with each other, they think some of the things they say are OK. Sometimes, it’s unbelievably not OK. He certainly said things that were not in good taste and were in bad humor. He knows what he did was wrong. It’s my fault that he’s uneducated in what is going on out there in society. I created a lack of understanding and I apologize. My son is 17 years old, a kid who made mistakes, and he’s owned up to it. If you want to promote change, you can, and he will.”
Folsom High School principal Howard Cadenhead and football coach Paul Doherty co-wrote in an email that led with, “Dear Folsom High School Community” and included, “We learned of some disturbing posts on social media that were brought to our attention by Folsom High alumni, students, parents, coaches and players who were concerned and hurt. Our Folsom High community responded quickly because we understand that the ideas and language expressed in these posts do not represent the core values of our school, football program or athletic community. We also recognize how fortunate we are to be part of a proud, caring and diverse community. The language and ideas represented in these posts are distressing, particularly in a time when our communities are hurting due to the senseless death of George Floyd. At all times, we must take care to express our empathy and humanity – not threaten, belittle and divide. Our deepest apologies go out to our African American students and families that have our respect. We are sorry.”
The full letter was posted on the Folsom football Twitter page and throughout Facebook and other social-media platforms.
McMahon’s Folsom football resignation came a day before Folsom administrators and coaches were to meet to discuss the fate of his future with the football program and school.
More from the principal and coach
Cadenhead told The Bee on Friday, “In light of these posts, it would not be appropriate for this student to remain a part of our football program. The diversity of our school, community and football program is a point of great pride at Folsom High and our students and families, particularly our African American families, have been harmed. As a school, we have a responsibility to hold our student-athletes to high standards as they represent our community. To his credit, this student has accepted responsibility for these posts and is working to understand the harm that these posts have caused. I have confidence that he will learn from this incident and become a more empathetic young man.”
Said Doherty: “We respect and appreciate his apology and, hopefully, our student athletes can learn from these mistakes.”
“The use of social media is a complex issue. Often, I believe that ideas shared on social media represent deeply held beliefs. Other times, I think our kids are careless with their words, and they don’t understand how profoundly their words affect others,” Cadenhead said. “Regardless, language that makes other people feel unsafe or marginalized is unacceptable. We must also remember that we work with kids. One of the ways we support our kids is to hold them accountable, but we must do so with grace and the opportunity for growth.”
Insight and action
John McMahon called Saul Patu to talk to his son late Wednesday night to help enlighten and engage. Patu has known the younger McMahon for a year. As a coach at Lewis & Clark College in Oregon last year, Patu offered JJ McMahon an athletic/academic scholarship package.
Patu is now the head coach at Capital Christian High in Sacramento. He is also the father of Ari Patu, the quarterback star for Folsom who has verbally pledged to play on scholarship at Stanford. Saul Patu said “all family blood veins – Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, African American and German - and I can relate to discrimination. Living in Oregon with my family before, we were told get out of the neighborhood or town for no other reason for hate and that our rights were not good enough.
“This is a loss for JJ, his parents and, by and large, for our community because when a kid fails something like this, whether you’re white, African American, brown, you name it – we all lose,” Patu added. “My heart breaks for JJ and those impacted by his words. He’s a kid. I’m not saying JJ isn’t guilty of immature things. I know what JJ wrote in the (social media chats) isn’t a full reflection of who he is, but he put it out there and he has to face those consequences. He knows he just can’t do stuff like that.”
Patu said his son has “forgiven” McMahon. Others within the Folsom program have not, which the McMahon family understands.
“Every kid needs a way back (into good graces), somewhere, somehow, and I believe that 100,000 percent,” Saul Patu said. “JJ can learn from this, but he’s got to do the work and earn his way back.”
JJ McMahon said in his apology post of his conversation with Saul Patu, “I had a very enlightening and positive conversation with someone that was able to help me understand how I have been wrong ... I will make no excuses and accept and own the repercussions of my actions. I hope in time that I can show this apology to be genuine. I will continue to educate myself so that I can be a productive part of the solution.”
This story was originally published June 5, 2020 at 3:59 PM with the headline "Folsom player apologizes and resigns from football team after social media racial chats."