The Incident and Initial Forfeit

The boys' lacrosse team at Ipswich High School in Massachusetts saw its playoff journey come to an abrupt and controversial end. Following the circulation of a social media photograph showing team members holding cigars, school officials were forced to address a potential violation of the league's strict anti-tobacco policy. The regulation prohibits the possession or use of tobacco products from the start of fall practice until the conclusion of the academic year.


Conflicting Accounts and 'Tea' Cigars

The situation escalated when student-athletes claimed the cigars were merely props filled with chamomile and English breakfast tea to mimic a graduation tradition without violating league rules. According to senior Christian Gianakakis, the students believed they had cleared up the misunderstanding with school leadership after presenting a receipt for the materials. Despite this, the team was shocked to find their participation in the semifinal game cancelled shortly before departure.


«Graduation, it's tradition you smoke a cigar, but we were still in lacrosse so we couldn't with the tobacco law. We knew that, so my dad made up with tea grinds, fake cigars so we could still get the pictures,» Gianakakis stated.

Administration Uncovers Deception

Ipswich school administrators later released a statement clarifying that the narrative presented to the media was misleading. Upon further investigation, officials discovered a second photograph showing the cigars significantly smoked, accompanied by a visible lighter and smoke clouds surrounding the students. Furthermore, the receipt initially provided by the families to prove their claims had its timestamp obscured.


The Investigation of the Evidence

Principal Jonathan Mitchell took the step of visiting the local grocery store to verify the validity of the receipt. The store manager was able to produce an original record of the purchase, which revealed that the tea used to stuff the "fake cigars" was purchased after the school had already initiated an investigation into the students.

  • The school email notifying families of the probe was sent at 12:41 pm on June 8th.
  • The receipt for the tea products was generated at 1:03 pm that same day—20 minutes after the families were alerted to the inquiry.

Final Outcome

Following the review of the evidence, the school suspended the six players involved in the photograph. This decision triggered a walkout by other team members, leaving the roster with only 11 athletes. When polled, the remaining players decided by an overwhelming majority to forfeit the state semifinal match, effectively ending their season. The state championship is now scheduled to proceed between Cohasset High School and Nantucket High School.