Bishop Sycamore Football Involved in Police Investigation Over Alleged Invalid Checks

The Bishop Sycamore saga apparently has even more layers that are just being uncovered. 

The now-infamous high school program that misled ESPN into televising a matchup against top-ranked IMG Academy on Sunday—and subsequently lost 58-0 after playing its second game in three days—allegedly used invalid checks to pay for a hotel in Canton, Ohio where the contest was held.

Canton police confirmed to Lori Steineck of The Repository that the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Canton South reported receiving two invalid checks totaling $3,596 for 25 rooms. 

Local police are now investigating two people connected to the stay for passing bad checks or forgery. 

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Canton Police said no one has been charged, though detectives have two listed suspects. The checks given to the hotel were linked to an account listed as Education Resources Group of New York, New York. 

The checks are just one of a few mounting issues the school faces. 

On Tuesday, Ohio governor Mike DeWine asked the state's department of education to investigate Bishop Sycamore's "compliance with Ohio law and to ensure the school is providing the educational opportunities Ohio students deserve."

Jason Frakes of the Louisville Courier Journal noted the school is not part of the Ohio High School Athletic Association and is listed by the state's department of education as a "non-chartered, non-tax supported school."

The football program—which reportedly told ESPN it had a number of elite prospects on its roster–fired head coach Roy Johnson following Sunday's loss to IMG Academy. Questions of player safety were further raised after it was uncovered the team played on Friday night before the IMG game. 

Now the Canton police are investigating whether or not the team tried to skip out on its hotel bill.