The
Bishop Sycamore (Columbus, Ohio) "high school" football program continued its run in the headlines Wednesday as SMAC Entertainment — co-founded by former NFL star Michael Strahan — announced it will produce a documentary featuring embattled former head coach Roy Johnson.
Bishop Sycamore garnered national attention during an ESPN-televised 58-0 loss to
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) on Aug. 29 — the team's second game in a three-day span. Broadcasters Anish Shroff and Tom Luginbill expressed skepticism over the talent level of the team and even the health and well-being of the players competing against a roster full of FBS recruits.
In the fallout of the lopsided thrashing, multiple media outlets reported that Bishop Sycamore was using fifth- and sixth-year players, misrepresented facts about recruits, has no physical address and Johnson was facing legal action over unpaid bills.
Johnson was fired shortly after and the remaining opponents on Bishop Sycamore's schedule all canceled. But he will get to tell his side of the story as part of SMAC Entertainment's documentary.
"To secure the rights to Roy's story as the head coach of the Bishop Sycamore High School football team that has gone viral and made national headlines is incredible, especially as it plays out in real time," Constance Schwartz-Morini of SMAC Entertainment told The Hollywood Reporter. "When our head of unscripted, Ethan Lewis, brought this story to Michael and my attention, we knew we could tell it with the gravitas, authenticity and journalistic integrity that it deserves."
SMAC Entertainment isn't the only company jumping into the Bishop Sycamore. Comedian and actor Kevin Hart announced last week that his production company HartBeat Productions is also planning a project around the controversial Ohio team.
An IMG Academy player reaches for the end zone during his team's 58-0 thrashing of Bishop Sycamore in August.
Photo by Jeff Harwell
