On August 29, 2021, top-ranked IMG Academy and unknown (and, in fact, non-existent) Bishop Sycamore High played a nationally televised football game that resulted in a 58-0 blowout for IMG and many players left injured on the field.

The fiasco created a media circus as audiences and reporters tried to figure out what was really going on, whether Bishop Sycamore was even a legitimate high-school program (short answer: no), and who the heck was the school’s head coach, Roy Johnson.

Max’s documentary film, BS High, reveals that Johnson was backed by neither academics nor experience and was coasting on mostly charm and confidence, enough so that he convinced parents to fork over thousands of dollars to train their sons for what they thought would be a run at the big time. That is, until they saw their NFL dreams go down in flames and injury on that fateful August 29.

The filmmakers had unprecedented access to Johnson, and they also interviewed former colleagues John Branham and Andre Peterson, journalists Andrew King and Bomani Jones, high school sports investigator Ben Ferree, and Bishop Sycamore former players and their families.

Key art for Max's documentary 'BS High.'
Key art for Max’s documentary ‘BS High.’

BS High is directed by Oscar-winners Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe. It’s produced by Jack Turner and Spencer Paysinger. It’s executive produced by Adam McKay (Succession) and Todd Schulman for Hyperobject Industries; Michael Strahan and Constance Schwartz-Morini for SMAC Entertainment; Jay Peterson and Todd Lubin for Boat Rocker’s Matador Content; and Ankur Chawla and Alex Mather for The Athletic. Nancy Abraham, Lisa Heller and Bentley Weiner executive produce for HBO with Abtin Motia serving as coordinating producer.

BS High starts streaming Wednesday, August 23 on Max.

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