A San Francisco Bay Area high school football program and its head coach have been suspended amid a local police investigation into hazing in the program.
The El Cerrito Police Department said Thursday they are investigating 22 people associated with the El Cerrito High School football team between September 2024 and October 2026.
The allegations include assault, battery, conspiracy, dissuading a victim, false imprisonment, sexual battery, and stalking.
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The police did not say how many of the 22 people are current students or former students at the high school, located in El Cerrito, California, about eight miles northwest of Oakland.
The investigation launched last month after a mandated reporter tipped off the police about bullying and hazing by some football team members against others.
Detectives have interviewed victims, witnesses and school staff, and they also have corroborating video evidence, the police said.
The West Contra Costa Unified School District, which is also investigating the accusations in a Title IX process, said Thursday that the program and head coach Tim Johnson are suspended during the probe, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The program previously had controversy in 2024, having to forfeit seven games due to ineligible players.
Jacob Rincon, the program’s previous longtime coach, was also suspended and ultimately dismissed in 2024 after video emerged from years prior showing players running a drill where some were repeatedly knocked down by others, the Chronicle reported.
Johnson took over the program in 2025 and proceeded to lead the school to its first-ever California Interscholastic Federation Division 4-A State Championship, according to local news site Richmondside. Their 2026 record was 6-3 before the suspension.
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