GERMANTOWN, Md. — Nearly a year after his assault charge was dismissed, Travis Hawkins is breaking his silence about a brawl between two Montgomery County high school football teams.
Hawkins, the former head coach of Northwest High School, lost his job after a fight broke out on the field involving players of his school and Gaithersburg High School.
The Gaithersburg High School athletic director, William Gant, filed a complaint against Hawkins for misdemeanor and second-degree assault. Gant alleged Hawkins was “aggressively going towards” him and one of his players. Gant accused Hawkins of not only hitting another employee, but failing to de-escalate a large brawl between players.
The Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office dismissed the case the following month after it reviewed the complaint.
“I just feel like I’ve been silent for way too long,” Hawkins said. “I have no regrets at all. Me and my staff did what we could to make sure kids were safe.”
The brawl intensified when coaches from both teams became involved. Hawkins said he was one of the last coaches to enter the field to split up the players, when Gant, who also lost his position, became aggressive towards him.
“Once he grabbed me by my neck, I was in survival mode at that point,” Hawkins added. "I did grab him and told him to never touch me again.”
Hawkins was able to find another job as a defense coordinator at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Prince George's County, but stepped down after the first game of the season to focus on his mental health. He said because of the incident, he deals with anxiety and depression.
“I felt like I've been treated like a threat to society when all I did was try to help their kids get back to their sideline and our kids get back to our sideline,” he said. “There was nothing I did that was out of ordinary that night.”
Hawkins claims Gant was hired again by Montgomery County Public Schools. WUSA9 reached out to confirm with MCPS but had not heard back by the time of publication. An online roster shows a William Gant employed at an MCPS middle school.
As part of his termination, Hawkins claimed he is prohibited from attending a Northwest High football game until 2024, is not eligible for re-hire at MCPS, and can’t speak to his players.
“I love those kids and those kids love me," he said. "They know I'll always be there for them whenever they need me."
As spectators were leaving off the field, another altercation erupted among police and spectators, which led to four juveniles and a 19-year-old facing charges. Three people, including a police officer and a school staff member, were assaulted and suffered non-life threatening injuries. Police dispersed the crowd and one person who was found with a knife was taken into custody.
A day after the massive brawl, MCPS suspended football operations temporarily for Northwest and Gaithersburg high schools. MCPS discussed how they would enhance security measures for athletic events and put into place certain restrictions.
The new restrictions for spectators at Montgomery County high school football games included that any school-age child who does not attend one of the two schools competing in the game had to be accompanied by an adult. Students from the competing schools also have to show their student ID or printed schedule at the gate.