Multiple players on Cherry Creek’s varsity boys tennis team have been suspended for fixing intrasquad matches that would determine the playing order in regular-season matches.
“Some kids really made a poor judgment,” Cherry Creek athletic director Randy McCall said Wednesday. “We held them accountable.”
The match-fixing, which happened in mid-August, was first reported Wednesday by KCNC-4.
Cherry Creek has won the 36 of the past 38 state championships, including the past nine. The Bruins play their first Varsity 1 match against Smoky Hill today.
“I think there are a lot of hurt feelings,” McCall said. “We still have quite a bit of time of having a lineup that probably isn’t what it should be and until that’s over with, it’s kind of hard to move on. Even after that, there are so many emotions involved with all the kids that it’s going to still take some time for these kids to move on.”
Cherry Creek coach Kirk Price declined comment Wednesday.
McCall would not go into specifics in terms of the number of players suspended and how many matches they would be suspended for. No players have been kicked off the team as a result of the fixing.
“I think the kids involved and the kids that weren’t involved, and the people associated with the program, it’s disappointing,” McCall said. “But at the same time, they’re kids. . . . People seem to forget sometimes that we’re in the education business. We’re in the business of helping kids become pretty good young adults, and part of that process is to make mistakes and be held accountable.”
Ryan Casey: 303-954-1983 or rcasey@denverpost.com
