WARREN, Mich. (WXYZ) — A former student football player at Warren De La Salle Collegiate High School says he had nothing to do with a 2019 hazing scandal.
He’s now suing the Warren Police Department alleging discrimination.
“There were schools that were interested in me that stopped being interested,” former student-athlete Cleveland Harville said.
At 20 years old, Harville says his world was turned upside down after falsely being accused of being involved in a football hazing scandal.
He says while charges against him and other African American student-athletes were eventually dropped, the ordeal cost him football scholarships, opportunities and dreams.
“Emotionally, it affected me. Being accused of something like that was very negative. A lot of people look at you a certain way after being accused of something like that,” Harville said.
He and his attorney Todd Perkins have now filed a federal lawsuit alleging police in Warren discriminated in pursuit of finding alleged wrongdoing by looking to prosecute only African American students.
Furthermore, Harville maintains he was not a part of the program back in 2019.
“He’s clearly a good student, graduating with a 3.7 (GPA). But again, that’s the bigger picture. It’s about him and what happened to him being illegally sought out,” Perkins said.
The suit claims white athletes were protected from the same harm Harville suffered to his reputation after his mugshot was taken and he was arrested.
“They need to understand what if that was your child. You want the best legal representation you can afford. Those things take time and more time in COVID,” Perkins said.
In part of a statement to 7 Action News, Warren police say they “deny that we were racist in this investigation.”
They statement goes on to say, “everyone was treated fairly. We looked at anyone we had information on. We presented our findings to the St. Clair County prosecutor. That was it.”
We’ve also reached out to the school, which confirmed they are cooperating but not able to comment.
The school is now under new leadership since the scandal with a new football coach.
For now, Harville is working as a food delivery driver hoping to still pursue college and build on his strong grades.
“I graduated with a 3.7 (GPA) and got into every school I applied to,” Harville said. “Football was the best part of De La Salle for me. I didn’t have any trouble with any other students or saw any type of hazing.”
Warren police have also declined to talk further about this case due to pending litigation.
