BS High: The Explosive Documentary On Bishop Sycamore Doesn't Disappoint, Highlights The Fraud That Is Roy Johnson

If you thought watching Bishop Sycamore play in the infamous game against IMG Academy was bad, wait until you watch the documentary, BS High. In looking back at what turned out to be one of the wildest stories to play-out in real time on national television, this film uncovered enough to make you feel worse for the players.

The 'coach' Roy Johnson, the architect behind the fraudulent school named Bishop Sycamore asks the director whether or not his body language makes him look like a con-artist. This was the opening scene, so we we're headed down an awkward path of storytelling.

The way you set the tone for a documentary is come out of the gates firing with information, or have a coach make you feel so unconformable that you have to keep watching. This film accomplished both, in a very short period of time. I thought the game (IMG) itself was bad, but the takeaways from it were astonishing.

Life-Insurance Policies To Fund Bishop Sycamore Facility

Roy Johnson found out it would take $150 million to build an athletic complex, so the smart thing to do is find investors. Well, they did just that, in the form of local church members. This whole ordeal started with Johnson getting folks to sign up for life insurance policies that would leave a certain percentage to the school, upon their death.

Yep, we found our first crime within the initial ten minutes of airing.

There was also the allegations that players signed up for PPP loans during the Covid pandemic, which caught one player off-guard when he found out multiple loans were in his name. I imagine you're starting to get the picture of how 'allegedly' bad this guy was.

Roy Johnson Would Screw Over Grocery Stores To Feed Team

If you thought the guy couldn't get any worse than what you've already heard, scamming and stealing from grocery stores is a new level. Johnson talks about running a 'hustle', where he would order 25 rotisserie chickens, but then not pick them up. Roy would wait until the store was about to close, knowing they would mark them down then go into the store to buy the food.

This was just one shady way he fed the team, which was a struggle on a daily basis. Besides scamming the store, he had players stealing from Walmart. This was the only way his players could eat most of the time, as Johnson could not afford for players to eat.

Players Left With Debt And Creditors Coming After Them

In a shocking twist, Roy Johnson allegedly had players put their name on the hotel room paperwork. So when the coach couldn't pay for the rooms after a certain period of time, the players would be hit with eviction notices. As documented in the film, these incidents left players with outstanding debt and other financial problems.

This goes to show you how bad of a con-artist Roy Johnson truly was.

The IMG-Academy Game Sent The World Into A Frenzy

I had no idea who Bishop Sycamore was when they took the field against IMG Academy on ESPN that day. I certainly knew that IMG was a team filled with 5-star talent, but I had no idea that Roy Johnson had recruited players for his team that were over the age of twenty. This was literally a bunch of grown men playing against high schoolers, who would ultimately destroy them for a second time.

I thought it started to get fishy when the announcers could not find any information on the Bishop Sycamore players, including their college offers.

But finding out that Roy Johnson had scheduled his team to play a game 48 hours earlier to 'prep' for IMG was where my jaw dropped. This guy had players sharing helmets, there was no trainer and that group of men had to play two games in three days.

But in the eyes of Roy Johnson, he had made it. Getting his group of players on ESPN was the only thing that mattered, even if he did it through fraudulent ways. As he gloated, that game got him front and center in a documentary produced by Michael Strahan.

By the way, that game led to multiple players being hurt, including torn ACL's, dislocated shoulders and a broken ankle. But he made it, so that's all that mattered to this guy who conned the high school world.

Even Though The School Broke Numerous Ohio HS Rules, He Wasn't Punished

Not only did the State of Ohio launch an investigation into Johnson and Bishop Sycamore, they even released a 79-page report about all of his wrongdoings. But there was a catch, the 'school' could not technically be punished because it registered as a school associated with a church. Yes, I know how wild that sounds, but you'll see it in the film.

There was also the fact that these players were not receiving any type of educational classes, meaning they weren't getting the credits needed to attend college. This left numerous players without the ability to sign paperwork to play at the next level, including the starting quarterback, who Grambling State had to pass on.

If there was one statement that stood out the most, it came from the Ohio High Schools Athletic Association investigator who uncovered it all.

"There's no law that's saying you can't play football games within 48 hours of each other. But there's also no law saying you can't drive a nail into your leg. You don't do it because it's stupid and unhealthy."

Bishop Sycamore head coach and con artist, Roy Johnson, courtesy of HBO Max

What's Next For Roy Johnson, Bishop Sycamore?

Roy Johnson called himself 'Hannibal' from the A-Team because he could always find a solution to the problem, even if it wasn't conventional. Well, Johnson is not only unconventional, he's a fraud, evident by the thirty different lawsuits that are pending against him, according to the film.

Not only did he mess with the lives of young men, he left them in deep despair. Some of the players made it to college, while a majority are still trying to find their way after a tumultuous experience.

As for Johnson, he claims that this documentary will set him up for greater things in life, which could lead to the reemergence of the Bishop Sycamore program. He smiled at the camera with a grin you could tell was full of lies and deceit, thinking the world is ready to help his redemption story.

The best thing Roy Johnson can do is stop hitting females 'allegedly,' and stay away from our country's youth, as the world already has enough folks looking to take advantage of players looking to play at the next level.

This documentary proved how much of a fraud he truly is, which hopefully prevents him from taking another dollar away from someone in the future. He's smiling, but hopefully deep down he one day figures out the negative impact he had on the lives of a football team and community that trusted him.

But I expect to see him involved in some type of scam in the future, just as Billy McFarland was to the Fyre Festival. A con-man will always be looking for their next con.