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The Dunne Dispatch (Hayfield Football Investigation Update) - January 29, 2026
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I am writing to provide an update on the Hayfield football scandal.
In June 2024, the Hayfield football scandal erupted in Fairfax County with “charges of verbal abuse, bullying, and a wave of transfers into the football program, allegedly orchestrated by [Hayfield HS football coach Darryl] Overton and his new staff.” (Source: Fairfax Times, June 21, 2024) Sources alleged “a rush of students transferring to Hayfield with curious paperwork,” to include “a net gain of 23 students over three short months” wherein “[m]any of the transfers were star players from Overton’s state champion football team at Freedom High School, a 14 mile-trek across the Fairfax County line in Prince William County, off I-95.” (Source: Fairfax Times, June 28, 2024) The Virginia High School League banned Hayfield “from postseason play over the next two seasons,” but a Virginia judge “granted Hayfield parents and players a temporary injunction against the [VHSL] decision,” which disrupted the Region 6C playoffs already underway. (Source: Fairfax Times, November 15, 2024)
In August 2024, I moved for the School Board to “preserve the integrity of our athletic programs and provide a level playing field for FCPS athletes by directing the Superintendent to retain an outside law firm to conduct a comprehensive and independent investigation of all allegations arising out of or relating to the recruitment and transfer of football players to the Hayfield HS football team from high schools outside of Fairfax County, to include involuntary reassignments of FCPS personnel, improper fundraising, improper expenditure of funds, cyberbullying and social media policy violations, and residency and eligibility of players.” Unfortunately, the motion failed by 8-3.
In December 2024, due to intervening events and my continued advocacy, I won unanimous support for my effort to conduct an independent investigation of the Hayfield football scandal. Importantly, I ensured that the investigation was conducted by a law firm that had not done any work for Fairfax County Public Schools or the Superintendent in the last 10 years, so the investigation would be impartial and its findings would be unbiased.
The Hayfield investigation has now concluded, and I am pleased to share the findings published by FCPS. I have provided the full findings below, but you can also find them online here.
I am proud to have led the effort to uphold the integrity of the FCPS athletics program and to ensure accountability and transparency through this investigation, to include the publication of its findings. I believe the end result is a stronger and more disciplined FCPS athletics program that will ensure every child has an equal opportunity to compete fairly under established rules that are consistently enforced. Since Hayfield, we have witnessed a sea change in FCPS athletics towards rigorous oversight and proactive enforcement, so I am confident that the Hayfield scandal will not be repeated.
Very Respectfully,
 Mateo Dunne, Mount Vernon District Representative
 January 28, 2026
In February 2025, the School Board retained the law firm of Baker McKenzie LLP to conduct a comprehensive, independent investigation of allegations surrounding student athlete transfers and eligibility practices within FCPS. Baker McKenzie recently completed its review and reported its findings and recommendations to the School Board and Superintendent.
Upon consideration of those findings, the School Board and Superintendent have concluded that the football programs at Hayfield Secondary School and Fairfax High School violated VHSL rules in 2024, and efforts to detect and correct those violations were impeded by gaps in FCPS’s systems and processes and actions taken by some members of FCPS staff. We have determined that FCPS can improve its processes for examining and verifying new student registrations and conducting eligibility assessments. FCPS will also benefit from enhancing its training for coaching staff, including volunteers.
Some of these improvements are already underway.
- In early 2025, we collaborated with the Virginia High School League to revamp statewide policies and regulations surrounding athletic transfers and eligibility. VHSL’s updated 2025 Rules are available here.
- To promote uniform and consistent application of the VHSL transfer rules, FCPS implemented:
- A platform for centralized collection, review, and processing of athletic transfers (Guardian);
- First-level review of all athletic transfers and compliance oversight by the Office of Student Activities and Athletics;
- Publication of guidance documents by the Office of Student Activities and Athletics to assist schools and enrolling families.
- We vested the Office of Student Activities and Athletics with authority to review and independently investigate eligibility questions and concerns.
- We enhanced our training for staff and coaches to include:
- Mandatory annual training on VHSL and FCPS eligibility requirements for all Directors of Student Activities (DSAs)
- Mandatory participation in VHSL/VIAAA New Athletic Director Workshop for all new DSAs
- Expanded training for Student Services teams specific to their role in VHSL athletics
- New training for all school principals specific to responsibilities/duties related to VHSL athletics
In the coming weeks, we will be making further improvements, including:
- Establishing common standards to ensure that registrations of new students are scrutinized with the same rigor as intra-FCPS transfers;
- Augmenting our investigative resources, protocols, tools, and training;
- Expanding our mandatory training requirements to include all levels of coaches, including unpaid volunteers.
These changes do not include personnel actions which are confidential by law and which the Superintendent has taken and will take as appropriate.
We are grateful to the many staff, parents, and community members who cooperated in this thorough, independent review, and for our community’s patience during this process. We are firmly committed to fairness and integrity in our athletic programs and ensuring continual compliance with all VHSL rules. We believe the remediation already underway, and the additional steps soon to be implemented, will strengthen our processes and help ensure our practices stay on the right path moving forward.
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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