Akron police say 6 students charged with rioting for Ellet-Firestone football fights

Akron police said six students have been charged with rioting as part of a large fight that broke out after the Ellet-Firestone football game on Oct. 14, with police using pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

"During the ongoing investigation, officers identified at least six students, three from each school, who were directly involved in the altercation," Akron police said in a news release Thursday. "Complaints were recently filed, charging the subjects with rioting for their roles in the incident. At least three participants were student-athletes from both schools, but it is unknown if they played in the football game."

The police department did not provide additional details in the release.

Accusations:Attorneys for Ellet drowning victim accuse Firestone players of mocking his death

Meanwhile, Akron Public Schools says its investigation of the incident determined Firestone football players who made on-field swimming motions after the game were not mocking the drowning death earlier in the year of a 14-year-old Ellet player that some said led to the fights breaking out.

"Our administrators have spent a good deal of time interviewing athletes and other students involved in or who witnessed the incident at the October 14 football game at Ellet," the district said in a prepared statement through spokesman Mark Williamson.

"It has been established that the students' actions on the field following the game have been misinterpreted as having been directed at a family that lost their child in a tragic swimming accident last summer.

Moment of silence:Ellet, Green football teams observe a moment of silence for Toshaye Pope

"Athletic Director Joe Vassalotti and a team of school leaders have confirmed that the on-field swimming motions of a few victorious Firestone football players immediately after the game, were in response to students at other APS high schools long claiming that Firestone 'is just a swim school' in terms of success in athletics.

"Administrators reminded the athletes of the disciplinary consequences of such behavior in the future and of their standing as role models for their fellow students."

“Players with whom we spoke have made it clear to us they had gotten carried away in the moment and regret any pain their unsportsmanlike actions may have caused," Vassalotti said in the statement.

"The players regret that the playful mocking of their rival was misinterpreted. A dozen student-athletes and fans from Firestone and Ellet have been disciplined for their roles in this incident," the school district said.

There were disputes early on over what caused the fights other than saying insults and taunts preceded the altercations.

Attorneys representing the family of the Ellet high school student who drowned at a football team event this summer said Firestone high school students mocked his death at the game and that was what sparked the the large postgame fight Friday night. The attorneys, who represent the family of Toshaye Pope, a 14-year-old Ellet player, criticized Akron Public Schools on its reaction to the incident.

Meanwhile, some on social media said Firestone players who made swimming motions on the field were in reaction to taunts from others at the game over the June death of Ethan Liming, a Firestone student, during a fight.

And still others said the Firestone swimming motions were a reaction to Ellet football players calling Firestone "Swimstone," implying Firestone's swim team program was stronger than its football program.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 6 students charged with rioting for Ellet-Firestone football fights