LUNENBURG, Mass. (WHDH) — High School football players in Lunenburg are off the hook after an investigation into the racist graffiti on one team members home.
Police announced on Monday that their investigation has found no direct link to any current players on the team.
Several of the football team’s games were canceled, but now parents of football players are saying they're happy their children are clear.
The graffiti appeared several weeks ago on 8th grader Isaac Phillips’ house. The community gathered around Phillips and has family even holding a candlelight vigil.
“They're really a good bunch of kids and this last three weeks have been awful. They took a tradition away from them and without any proof,” said Les Szabady, parent.
Now that police have cleared the football team, the question is who did it.
Phillips has left the school and police now say they are close to an arrest and that all players are in the clear.
“We would have liked to have resolved this matter quicker. We would have liked to resolve it way before Thanksgiving and maybe that would have turned things around, but unfortunately that’s not the case here I feel bad about that,” Lunenburg Police Chief Jim Marino said.
The Phillips family is no longer talking with the media or police. In November, the community rallied behind them, even heading a vigil. Parents who watched their children wrongfully accused say they still have a lot of questions.
“Hopefully we can catch the coward that did this and sat there and let our children take the blame,” Szabady said.
Lunenburg police say they continue to work closely with the FBI, but not everyone is cooperating with their investigation. They are looking at other evidence, including handwriting analysis.