PIEDMONT, Calif. — The superintendent of a San Francisco Bay Area school district where high school athletes created a statistics-based fantasy sex league said the story has been sensationalized and the district has “really good kids that can make mistakes.”
Piedmont Unified School District Superintendent Connie Hubbard said at a school board meeting Wednesday that the district does not condone the students’ behavior but would discuss parents’ concerns and move forward, according to the Oakland Tribune.
“The media swirl the last few days began as an honest communication with parents. Viral voices sensationalized what the story was. We will not let this deter us,” she said.
There was no information reflecting criminal conduct, according to Hubbard.
The league — created by male athletes at Piedmont High School — awarded points when girls the boys “drafted” were rumored to have engaged in sexual activity.
Piedmont is an affluent city near Oakland.
The league came to light after the school’s principal informed parents about it in a letter and email last week. The revelation sparked discussions about teen behavior in community forums.
According to Principal Rich Kitchens’ letter, varsity athletes used the online competition, modeled after fantasy leagues common in major league sports and referred to as a “Fantasy Slut League,” as a bonding activity for the last five or six years.
“Male students earn points for documented engagement in sexual activities with female students,” he wrote.
Most of the female students who were drafted into the league weren’t aware of the competition, he said.
Officials at the school learned about the game during an assembly about date rape earlier this month. Administrators interviewed students, parents and staff members but weren’t able to identify any participants, according to Kitchens.
School Board President Rick Raushenbush said Wednesday that the district had “brought an end” to the conduct and would address the issues that led to it.
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