El Cerrito High School Football Team, Coach Suspended Amid Criminal Hazing Investigation
An East Bay school district said on Thursday that the El Cerrito High School football program was suspended after a police investigation into allegations of hazing, sexual battery and bullying involving 22 former or current student-athletes.
The El Cerrito Police Department said it launched an investigation on Oct. 2 after a mandated reporter alleged students were bullying and hazing other football players.
The police probe has so far identified nearly two dozen individuals suspected of battery, sexual battery, assault, false imprisonment, dissuading a victim, conspiracy or stalking that allegedly occurred between September 2024 and October 2026. The department expects to make “multiple arrests” as the investigation continues.
“No child should ever experience what our students have described,” West Contra Costa Unified School District Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said in a statement. “We must now make the very tough call to immediately suspend the El Cerrito High football program in order to prevent any further harm and restore a safe learning environment for our students.”
The investigation uncovered video footage that “corroborated the victims’ accounts and provided additional evidence substantiating the reported conduct,” the department said. Police said they would not release additional details at this time to protect the privacy of juvenile victims, witnesses and suspects.
As part of its own ongoing Title IX investigation conducted by an unnamed third party, WCCUSD placed the team’s head coach, Tim Johnson, on leave, according to the district.
In a statement, the district said it was providing “supportive resources” for all impacted students and plans to implement “anti-hazing education and bystander education across classrooms.”
“First and foremost, we must care for our students’ wellbeing,” WCCUSD Board President Guadalupe Enllana said in a statement. “As a Board and a district, we are committed to making sure that our students have the guidance and safe learning environments that they need in order to learn, grow, and thrive.”
The team won its first-ever state championship in 2025. ECHS’s 2024 football season, however, was marked by controversy surrounding ineligible players and a student walkout.
Last year, another Contra Costa County high school football team in Antioch faced scrutiny for hazing when a group of Antioch High School players was caught on video hazing another student.