Montclair Prep Players Suspended

VAN NUYS —  Montclair Prep Principal Vernon Simpson kept his word and suspended five football players for Friday’s game against Kilpatrick. Akil Anderson, Demetrius Green, Kenny Peffer, Simone Shouhead and Langston Woodberry did not suit up for the Mounties’ 26-14 loss.

The players were suspended for allegedly rough-housing a junior varsity player on the school bus after practice. Simpson said he received an anonymous letter about the situation. Coach George Giannini punished the players by making them run laps, but faculty members at the Van Nuys campus expressed concern that the punishment was too lenient.

Parents of at least two suspended players have stated that the suspensions were racially motivated. Of the five players suspended, three are black and two are white.

“I’m offended about the implication that this had anything to do with race,” Simpson said. “This was an equal-opportunity benching.”