One of the questions that emerged during the Bishop Sycamore saga following the football team’s blowout loss on national television was whether or not the institution they played for was actually a school.
The new head coach sat down with NBC4 to clarify whether or not Bishop Sycamore is a legitimate school based out of Columbus, Ohio. According to Tyren Jackson, it’s not.
“We do not offer curriculum,” he told the outlet. “We are not a school. That’s not what Bishop Sycamore is, and I think that’s what the biggest misconception about us was, and that was our fault. Because that was a mistake on paperwork.”
The state of Ohio recognizes Bishop Sycamore as a “non-charter, non-tax supported school.” Still, Jackson said he doesn’t know anything about that. Jackson claims the filing was submitted to the Ohio Department of Education before he was hired.
“Right, and I don’t know anything about that. I won’t speak on stuff I don’t know about,” Jackson said. “Like I said, if it was something that happened like that, then that’s terrible. That’s not how you do business.”
Bishop Sycamore does not intend to file paperwork for the current academic school year.
Even though all teams scheduled to play Bishop Sycamore this fall have canceled, Jackson says the team is still practicing. The cancelations began after the team’s televised loss to Florida’s IMG Academy.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has called for a state investigation into the institution. Jackson told NBC4 that he will fully cooperate.
“I don’t have any problem cooperating, letting them know whatever they want to know and things of that nature,” he said. “That stuff should never had happened the way it happened,” calling it a “mistake.”
