Hoover High Students Walk Out Of Class To Protest Response To Brawl

GLENDALE (CBSLA) – Hundreds of Hoover High School students staged a walkout Monday to protest the abrupt cancellation of several football games in the wake of a brawl which broke out on campus earlier this month.

The students marched to Glendale Unified School District headquarters, where they met with district leaders for about 20 minutes.

"The walk, I think we like tried to show them, but they didn't take us seriously," one boy told CBS2.

The massive fight, which was caught on cell phone video, occurred in the early afternoon on Oct. 3. Dozens of students appeared to be involved, and several threw punches, although no injuries were reported.

The fight may have involved members of the school's football team.

"What first started off as just a few students fighting a few days beforehand, we found out," GUSD Board President Gregory Krikorian told CBS2 Monday. "And then these few students, it grew to calling their friends, and it got a little bigger."

Following the brawl, GUSD suspended football practices and canceled Hoover's four remaining football games, including the cancellation of the final game of the season: the much-anticipated homecoming game Thursday, Oct. 25, against crosstown rival Glendale High School.

The district canceled the Hoover-Glendale game just hours before kickoff.

The district sent out an email on the afternoon of the big game saying it had canceled it after hearing "increased rumors of possible disruptions at the homecoming game that put student, employee, and spectator safety at risk."

Some community members have said the fight may have been the result of tensions between the school's large Armenian student population and the generally black or Latino football student-athletes.

However, the district has denied rumors the games were canceled due to escalating racial tensions. Instead, GUSD say the cancellation was because of worries because of concern that potential California Interscholastic Federation infractions could lead to an unsafe situation such as not having enough players at practices or games.

District leaders told students Monday that most of the homecoming events would be rescheduled.

The investigation into the exact cause of the fight is ongoing. Security has been increased on the campus as a precaution since the fight.