Timberline High School has forfeited its homecoming football game.
Timberline High School has forfeited its homecoming football game, the school announced Tuesday night.
The cancellation was a change of course from earlier in the day, when the school said the game was merely postponed. The game was originally scheduled for Thursday, with Kuna as the visiting team.
The homecoming dance will proceed as scheduled, school officials said. Timberline also plans to reschedule all postponed homecoming activities other than the game.
The forfeit came as students planned to protest the football team following allegations that some of its members sent violent social media messages about a female student in a group chat. The decision was announced in an email to Boise School District families and staff signed by Timberline Principal Chad Wright, BSD Area Director Shelley Bonds and BSD Superintendent Wendy Johnson.
“Given the seriousness of the circumstances involving recent student social media posts and ongoing concerns about student safety and well-being, we believe cancellation is the most responsible decision,” the email said. “Our priority is ensuring students and staff are safe and supported while providing the Timberline school community time to process what has occurred.”
The letter earlier in the day referenced “threats of violence” in the decision-making process.
“Homecoming is so much more than one game, one parade or one dance,” the earlier email said. “It is a celebration of current, future and past students and the families, educators and community who support them. However, given the heightened emotions, threats of violence, and the simple need to pause, reflect and process, we believe it is not only the prudent decision, but the right one as well.”
The homecoming dance will feature “additional security measures,” the Tuesday night email said. It’s continuing in part because the dance takes place in “a controlled indoor space without spectators,” the email said.
An Instagram page called “Thswalkout2026” said Sunday that students planned to boycott the football game and walk out of school Wednesday to show support for victims of sexual violence.
The messages gained attention over the weekend through a petition that alleged members of the Timberline football team wrote about wanting to rape and kill a female student in a group chat on Snapchat, a social media and messaging app.
The petition launched Saturday after photos of the alleged group chat began circulating online. More than 11,000 people had signed it as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Boise Police Department told the Idaho Statesman on Sunday that it was conducting an investigation into the messages. Boise School District said it learned about the messages on Friday and contacted law enforcement that same day. The district said it planned to launch its own investigation after Boise police completed theirs.
Source: www.idahostatesman.com
