Documentary Recommendation: “BS High”

For those of you who aren’t aware of the legend of Bishop Sycamore High School, allow me to give you a quick summary. Bishop Sycamore showed up on a national level when they competed against IMG Academy, the most notable athletic academy in the United States, on ESPN in 2021. Bishop Sycamore was sold as the country’s next great athletic high school powerhouse, and proceeded to get shut out 58-0 while announcers struggled to locate rostered athletes in their player guide.

After that game, mass media intrigue unearthed the facade that was Bishop Sycamore High School, and we learned over time that the school was not actually a school, but rather was a complete con founded by a man trying to fake his way into high school football prominence.

To be honest, it showcases some of the worst possible avenues one can take for the pursuit of wealth, but it is magnified by the fact that the person responsible used children and young adults as pawns to futher his own agenda. This documentary addresses many of the tropes we hear in college athletics - promises of scholarships and feeling like sports are the only way out of a bad situation - and showcases what kind of damage people can do when they take advantage of families relying on these tropes.

Most of us are probably familiar with Netflix’s “Varsity Blues”, but “BS High” shows you what can happen when the abuse happens on the athletic side of the equation, rather than the admissions side.

You can find “BS High” on MAX, and it’s well worth the free trial.