Multiple football coaches, players charged over alleged hazing at Pennsylvania high school

Four former football coaches and six players at a Pennsylvania high school face criminal charges in connection with alleged locker room assaults on a teammate.

The charges allege that several members of the Cheltenham High School football team assaulted a then-15-year-old sophomore after two pre-season practices last year, and that the coaches kept quiet after the victim reported the second incident.

The grand jury indictment follows a lengthy investigation into hazing allegations in the football program, which first came to light last fall and led district officials to cancel the team’s upcoming season.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said during a press briefing on Wednesday announcing the charges that his office’s investigation was “stymied” by a reluctance of people to be interviewed about the incidents, one of which he said was captured on cellphone video by two players.

Cheltenham School District Superintendent Brian Scriven said Wednesday that the district’s “thoughts remain with the victim and their family.”

“No student should ever experience violence or fear in a school-related setting,” Scriven said. “While no legal outcome can erase the harm that was experienced, we appreciate that after nearly a year, charges have been announced and those responsible are being held accountable through the criminal justice system.”

The first incident occurred on Aug. 15, 2025, according to prosecutors.

Videos show several football players “restraining the juvenile victim” while another juvenile teammate “used a broomstick to poke at the victim’s buttocks,” according to the district attorney’s office. At least one player can be heard chanting, “Broomstick him,” according to a grand jury filing.

Then, on Sept. 3, 2025, multiple players allegedly kicked or stomped on the sophomore, and the same juvenile teammate again used a broomstick to poke at his buttocks, according to prosecutors. The victim reported being “punched, kicked and stomped in the head and groin with cleats,” prosecutors said.

There is no video of the second incident, which reportedly occurred “after the victim stole equipment from another player’s locker, which prompted the coaching staff to make the team do additional running,” the district attorney’s office said.

“The assaults on this victim were not the typical goofing around by teammates or horseplay, as some of the coaches in this case called it. They were crimes,” Steele said during the press briefing. “Numerous witnesses, many reluctant to share what they saw and knew, testified before the grand jury about what occurred in the Cheltenham High School locker room on these two occasions and testified about actions taken by some of the football coaches after the assaults.”

Cheltenham High School is seen in Wyncote, Pennsylvania.
WPVI

No coaches were in the locker room at the time of either incident, prosecutors said. While getting a ride home from the practice on Sept. 3, 2025, the sophomore told a volunteer coach for the team — Ralph Burnley, one of the coaches charged in the case — about the alleged assault, according to prosecutors.

“In the car, the victim told Burnley that he had just been ‘jumped’ by his teammates in the locker room following practice and had an injury to his genital area,” the district attorney’s office said.

According to prosecutors, Burnley subsequently texted a group chat with the three other coaches charged in the case — head coach Terence Tolbert, associate head coach Darian “DJ” McFadden and assistant coach Benjamin Johnson III.

Tolbert allegedly told the sophomore not to tell his parents so the team could address the matter internally, according to the grand jury report. Phone records and text messages uncovered by the grand jury investigation showed that the coaches “wanted to cover it up” to protect the season, the grand jury report alleged.

“In a September 3 text message conversation, Burnley said the quiet part out loud: ‘This has to be handled and kept quiet. It’s just like hazing … I’m telling you if this gets out they could put the whole team in jeopardy,'” the grand jury report stated.

McFadden allegedly responded that “if this get’s [sic] out we are f—–! They will cancel the whole season,” the grand jury report stated.

The coaches did not contact the child’s mother or tell school administrators about the Sept. 3, 2025, incident at that time, according to the grand jury report. The mother learned about it a few days later and took her son to an urgent care facility on Sept. 8, 2025, where he was found to have sustained an injury to his genitals, prosecutors said.

Following an anonymous report regarding the Sept. 3, 2025, incident made on the Safe2Say app, a school safety reporting system, on Sept. 18, 2025, school administrators contacted police, according to prosecutors. District officials subsequently suspended the 2025-2026 football program and canceled the upcoming 2026-2027 season due to the hazing allegations.

The first alleged incident on Aug. 15, 2025, was uncovered during the grand jury proceedings, according to Steele.

“There’s been a lot of misinformation, I think, out there in the community about what happened to a 15-year-old football player, and there has been reluctance by most parties — adults and juveniles — to tell what they knew, what they saw, what they heard that day in the locker room, and afterwards in the next several weeks,” Steele said Wednesday.

He said his office moved the investigation into the grand jury to compel testimony. Following testimony from more than 25 witnesses, the grand jury voted to charge the four coaches, four juvenile football players — including one who allegedly led the assaults and another who is accused of wielding the broomstick — and two 18-year-old football players, Steele said.

The four coaches have each been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and conspiracy to endanger the welfare of a child, prosecutors said.

Two juvenile players who were alleged to be active participants in the assaults face charges including aggravated assault, hazing and unlawful restraint, Steele said. The other two juvenile players face charges including conspiracy to commit hazing, perjury and tampering with evidence, he said. The juveniles are not being named, the DA said.

One of the 18-year-old players, Isaiah Simpson, was charged with conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and related charges. The other, Josiah Peeler, has been charged with false swearing.

It is unclear if those charged have an attorney at this time.

After the hazing allegations surfaced in October 2025, one of the coaches denied them. “None of that stuff is true, it didn’t happen,” McFadden told ABC Philadelphia station WPVI.

Scriven said Wednesday that the Cheltenham School has cooperated with law enforcement on the “highly sensitive” investigation, and that throughout, its “guiding priority was, and remains, the safety and well-being of every student.”

“As the new school year approaches, please know that we are committed to the safety and well-being of every student,” Scriven said. “During the remaining weeks of the summer, we will continue to review, strengthen, and reinforce our safety protocols and operational procedures to ensure our schools are prepared to provide a safe, secure, and supportive learning environment for all students.”

The grand jury report calls for legislative action to make hazing a reportable offense by mandated reporters, such as teachers, coaches and school administrators. Scriven said the district supports the report’s recommendations and will work with local elected officials to push for the reforms.

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