NFL imposter causes scare at Lakota school

WEST CHESTER TWP. Some parents kept their children from a Lakota school Wednesday after reports that a man pretending to be an NFL player had spent time there during an earlier visit.

West Chester Police were visible on the campus of Adena Elementary School on Wednesday during classes.

The man, who was not identified by school officials, is a former Adena student

and represented himself as an NFL player during a visit last week, said police.

He registered in the school as a visitor and intermingled with staff and students during school hours. Subsequent checks on his claims of playing in the NFL and his boosting of accomplishments in the league turned out to be untrue, said school officials.

No student was threatened or harmed during the visit, said Adena Principal Jodi Leichman in a letter sent to parents of children in the Butler County school.

The man's initial entry into the school was to visit his former teacher, school officials said.

West Chester Police Captain Brian Rebholz said officers investigated the man's school visit and later met with him at his home.

"He didn't have any ill intent and he has agreed to stay away from the school," said Rebholz, who added that the man's NFL lies did not warrant the filing of criminal charges and so he was not publicly identified.

"But he understood the severity of the situation," he said.

The Enquirer checked with officials at the NFL headquarters who said there is no listing on any team's current or past rosters - including the Cincinnati Bengals - for the man.

"Anytime somebody claims to be or do something, it raises suspicions," said Randy Oppenheimer, spokesman for Lakota Schools.

Adena parent Julainne Layman was concerned when she learned of the incident.

"You have to always be concerned especially when you hear so much about what can go on in schools today. That's why some parents didn't send their kids to school today," said Layman.

She did not keep her child home, saying she is confident the school will correct any security shortfalls revealed by the man's visit.

"I know they always have the children's safety as their first concern," she said.

Leichman originally sent a letter home to parents on Monday in regards to the man's May 7 visit.

During his visit, she wrote, he visited several former teachers "and shared with them details about his career path since leaving Adena. We've since learned many of those details were false, although we are unsure why he'd share such inaccuracies."

Leichman followed with a May 14 letter to parents, stating the first communication "raised further questions and concerns."

"This visitor, while less than truthful in the accounts of his career, did not pose any threat or criminal behavior toward our students and staff. Even so, we could have avoided the encounter altogether with some simple adjustments to our visitor check-in procedures," she said in the letter.

She assured that security has since been tightened at the school.