OVIEDO, Fla. — The father of an Oviedo High School football player accused of unwanted touching inside the locker room says his son was "blindsided" by allegations.
For the second consecutive year, an investigation has been launched by police and the school district into unwanted touching by football players in the locker room in what has been referred to as a "code red."
The father of one of the players disciplined spoke to Channel 9 to defend his son.
"My son is not that kid that would have done this to anyone, and I think they are going to come up empty-handed with whatever they are trying to find," said the dad.
The father told Channel 9 his son completely denies the allegations against him and says there was a previous incident with the boy involved.
"He completely denies that. He knows the boy that was involved, and there were words before this happened by the individual that is claiming this thing directed towards my son's sister," the father said. "I won't get into the details of that. But my son looked at him and said: 'You apologize for what you just said. You apologize now.' Which he did, he apologized for it."
The father said after the boys made up, they went to practice, came back to the locker room and "wrestled around."
"There was never a moment where he said, 'Get off me' or anything like that," the father continued. "It ended with laughs, and it was over. This was two and a half months ago. My son thought nothing about it and was blindsided with it when he was faced with it this past Friday."
The school ended up giving the father's son and two others in-school suspensions and they will also miss the final game of the season.
"Three of the best kids on the team," said the father. "I believe with 100 percent certainty in my own head that this is a school trying to placate a frenzied media and social media that just want action, so they are giving action."
Oviedo police said that a second victim came forward Thursday, but his parents did not want to pursue any charges.
The school district is asking parents to contact the superintendent's office or the school board directly with their complaints if they don't feel comfortable dealing with officials at the school.
If you know of someone being abused at a Florida school, you can report it here and here.
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