Twenty players from Inspiration Academy's high school baseball team will be taking the bench for part of this season.
Inspiration Academy founder Eddie Speir said members of the team were participating in a prank called "The Ultimate Sit-Up."
- Baseball director says 20 players suspended
- Stunt involved 'impossible sit-ups'
- Suspensions were one to three games
"A student is challenged to do a sit-up, (told) 'Nobody can do this. Nobody can do this sit-up,'" Speir said. "There's a towel that is put on their head and they're encouraged to give it their all, and another student stands up in front of them. And then they let go of the towel and [the student's] face goes into their butt."
What could be called an innocent joke was not taken lightly by the school's administration. Each player involved in the incident who did not report it was suspended for at least one game.
It's a punishment that hasn't come without some protest.
"There's pushback from families. There's two sides of it," said Inspiration Academy Baseball director Mario Jimenez. "You got parents who are upset because kids are being punished for something they didn't do necessarily, but were involved in."
Jimenez said he will not downplay the players' actions.
"We are just trying to set a standard for our young men and be different," he said. "We want to be different, and how are you going to be different is set a standard so high that everyone has to work so hard that they know every day is a try out."
The punished players will sit out different games throughout the season.
Inspiration's next game is Wednesday.