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Bishop Sycamore Docuseries On the Way from Kevin Hart

Actor Kevin Hart has plans to make a docuseries on the recent scandal of the Bishop Sycamore football team.

The Bishop Sycamore Centurions team fooled TV networks, fans, and other officials in its quest to get in a televised high school football game.

The Columbus, Ohio team was destroyed by IMG Academy in a 58-0 defeat on Aug. 29.

The Centurions team billed many of its players as top high school football recruits. After the team played, many started to look into the players and the coach.

Football Game Origins

Kevin Hart’s production team will likely focus on the IMG Academy-Bishop Sycamore ESPN game. The game was the finale of the 2021 ESPN High School Kickoff series.

When game organizer Paragon Marketing couldn’t find IMG an opponent, they turned to Prep Gridiron Logistics. According to the Washington Post, that high school sports company found Bishop Sycamore. Interestingly, 200 teams declined to play IMG for the game. 

Since the game, many fingers have been pointed in the scandal.

Kevin Hart Tackling Ohio High School Team Story

What happened next was almost as mysterious as the former Notre Dame star Manti Te’o girlfriend hoax of 2012.

After the game, questions arose about arrest records, player ages, and school origins. Among the lurid details, the team stayed at a motel for five months, and players struggled to get food.

 “As soon as I started following this story, I was immediately drawn to it,” Kevin Hart said. “(I) knew it was something that myself and my team at HartBeat had to dive into.” 

The actor/host said his group will “break down stories and capture the most interesting and honest moments in a narrative.”

Hart added, “We know this con comes with a robust backstory and cannot wait to share it with the world.” 

Together, Kevin Hart’s HartBeat Productions will work with Complex Networks, Klutch Originals, and Haven Entertainment on the series. An additional scripted adaptation is in the works.

Kevin Hart’s Company Working With Others

Likewise, Complex Productions also shared its excitement in working with Hart to bring the story to life.

“The story has quickly become one of the most unique roller coaster plots sports has ever seen,” Complex editor Zion Olojede said.

Olojede’s work has produced stories about a former Bishop Sycamore player’s recruitment. The writer also talked to two other players from the 2020 team since head coach Roy Johnson’s firing.  

The writer learned from Aaron Boyd that team officials lied to players and recruited players by saying the school was “gonna be the IMG of the Midwest.” 

Similarly, sports agent Rich Paul is working on the project. Paul, who founded Klutch Sports Agency with LeBron James, said he’s looking forward to telling the story. Paul said he wants to shed light on amateur athletics in America with the story.

There have been no announcements about the air date or production schedule.

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