Elma Football team sent home early from team camp

Published 1:30 am Monday, July 6, 2026

On the Elma High School football Facebook page, the June 23 post is a group photo of the Elma football players leaving for George Fox University in Oregon, where they would participate in a four-day team camp. Posts from Day 2 and Day 3 feature photo montages of their practices and video of a tug of war on the evening of June 24. The team placed second. There are no posts of the players participating in activities on Day 4 of camp – that’s because the team was sent home early.

The Newburg Police Department responded to an incident at George Fox University involving the Elma players that resulted in a case number being assigned. As per an email the Newburg Police Department sent to The Daily World, juveniles are being charged and the case is still pending adjudication.

Carly Reumann, the George Fox University communications manager, shared via email with The Daily World that “Our athletics staff met with the Elma head coach in person and staff made the decision to send the Elma team home. The decision was also made not to invite them back next summer to team camp.”

Two sources have confirmed that the incident involved hair cutting.

Last week, Coach Conor McNeill sent a message to Elma football families that said the weight room will be closed until further notice and all football activities, such as the Open Field practices, will be suspended until further notice.

The Daily World reached out to Superintendent Chris Nesmith to ask if the weight room closure is because of the incident at team camp, and he shared via email that “With me being out of the country presently, new athletic director, John Heley coming on board, and admin traveling for summer. We needed time to review our district policies and procedures for the summer weight room.”

On June 25, 2026, The Spokesman-Review reported that a 2023 hazing assault involving Mead High School football players at a Mead School District-sponsored football camp at Eastern Washington University resulted in the jury awarding the families and the two victims $17 million.

“Spokane County Superior Court Judge Annette Plese already ruled leading up to the civil jury trial that the district was liable by failing to protect students from “foreseeable harm,” did not follow mandatory reporting laws after receiving several reports of sexual harassment and assault and engaged in gender-based and racial discrimination,” reported The Spokesman-Review.