Napa students, parents protest expulsion of students in hazing case

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Dozens of students at Napa High School are not in class Friday in protest over the expulsion of two football players involved in a case of hazing.

SkyFox flew over as about 100 students and parents protested at the school and the district offices next door.

The hazing incident allegedly happened in November, and involved members of the JV football team.

The students and parents say, they plan to protest all afternoon.

Captain Jennifer Gonzales with Napa PD said the case started as an assault investigation at Napa High last fall and grew into a case of hazing with separate incidents dating back to the 2015 - 2016 academic school year.

"Once the investigators started talking to the witnesses, the offenders, and the victims, they determined it was the span of multiple years, but it wasn't solid throughout the year," Gonzales said. "It was the weeks leading up to the big game."

The "Big Game" is a rivalry football game between Napa High and Vintage High. When police received the first report of assault in November 2016, the department said at the time it was believed the incident, in which players reportedly held down other teammates and grabbed them, was a form of hazing.

Read more on our previous report about the case here.