COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – A trailer full of football equipment stolen from Lakewood High School has parents outraged.
They’ve been concerned their kids aren’t practicing safely, and won’t be completely ready for the Friday Night Lights in the fall.
“(The) biggest concerns (are) keeping these kids healthy and safe,” said James Love, a parent at Lakewood High School.
Parents of Lakewood High School football players say they were blindsided by the loss of the school’s football equipment.
The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and Sumter County School District confirmed the theft of a football trailer on March 21st, 2025.
The equipment that was in the stolen trailer included heavy duty vinyl tackling dummies and foam chest pads. No helmets, shoulder pads or other equipment that players wear were taken.
The team is back practicing now, but parents are worried about the players’ safety during spring practices.
“That’s what this gear is for; is to keep them safe,” Love said, ”I don’t want to see any of our kids hurting, and we’ve already had some get hurt. Without this equipment, more are going to get hurt, and we can’t have that.”
Parents say the missing equipment has greatly limited what players can do in terms of their training.
The School district says replacement equipment has been ordered, but it’s not in yet.
Savannah Floyd is one parent upset that the situation has greatly hindered spring practices for her son and the rest of the team.
“Football is an outlet for fifty individual boys who have their own situation,” Floyd said, ”Some of these kids use football as a mental break for them, some of these kids use football as their future; for some of these kids, football is all that they have.”
The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with additional information is urged to contact the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
People can leave an anonymous tip at www.p3tips.com
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