The San Benito High School District announced on Monday that the remainder of Hollister High School’s varsity football season has been canceled due to an ongoing review of “a matter involving members of the varsity football program.”
The announcement comes less than a week after the Balers forfeited the Sept. 17 varsity game against Alisal—and nearly two weeks after the district revealed that it had placed the team’s head coach, Thomas Sullivan, on paid administrative leave for an unspecified period of time.
Sullivan was placed on leave while the district conducts an ongoing investigation into the Hollister High School football program, SBHSD officials said on Sept. 10. The Sept. 17 forfeit was due to “an ongoing review of a recent report regarding team activities.”
District officials so far have revealed few details of the investigation or investigations. SBHSD spokesperson Adam Breen last week declined to say whether there are multiple unrelated investigations underway, or if the recent events are all related to a single investigation.
SBHSD Chief Human Resources Officer Cindi Peterson did not immediately return a phone call requesting additional information regarding the cancellation of the season.
“Because the matter involves individual students and remains under review, the district is limited in the information it can provide,” says a Sept. 21 statement from Superintendent Dr. Shawn Tennenbaum announcing the cancellation of the remainder of the 2026 season.
The statement begins, “The district has made the difficult decision to cancel the remainder of the varsity football season. We recognize that this is disappointing news for our students, families, coaches and broader school community. We understand the time, effort, commitment and support that go into a high school athletic season, and we recognize the impact this decision has on those who have invested so much in the program.”
Tennenbaum’s statement continues, “The district is currently reviewing a matter involving members of the varsity football program. At this time, the number of available student-athletes is not sufficient to safely field a team for the remainder of the scheduled games.”
The statement also asked the public to “respect the privacy of the students and families involved and to allow the district’s review to proceed appropriately.”
The Balers went undefeated their first three games of the season, most recently beating Wilcox 27-20 on Sept. 11.
After Sullivan was placed on leave, the district appointed former longtime Balers’ coach Chris Cameron to lead the varsity program.
More information will be provided if and when possible, Tennenbaum added.
I think they should recut some juniors, this is very sad
Too many unanswered questions with this story. Surely a player or a coach — even not for attribution — can fill in some gaping blanks. Chief, just what is the issue? Who is involved? And that classic Watergate-era question paraphrased: Who knows what and when did they know it?
A number of explanations are circulating, and it’s impossible for an outsider to know what’s accurate. It behooves the school to get ahead of this to ensure accurate information, and the Free Lance has an obligation to pull fact from the maelstrom.
Too many unanswered questions with this story. Surely a player or a coach — even not for attribution — can fill in some gaping blanks. Chiefly, just what is the issue? Who is involved? And that classic Watergate-era question paraphrased: Who knows what and when did they know it?
A number of explanations are circulating, and it’s impossible for an outsider to know what’s accurate. It behooves the school to get ahead of this to ensure accurate information, and the Free Lance has an obligation to pull fact from the maelstrom.