A Midlothian High School student created an altered, AI-generated image showing a Huguenot High School football player’s face on the body of Nolan Wells after a rival game between the two schools last week, school officials said. 

Wells’ death received national attention this summer, amid speculation as to whether it may have been racially motivated.

The image circulated online on social media, and was addressed by Midlothian High Principal Shawn Abel. 

“The post … does not align with the values of Midlothian High School or its football team. Its content is unacceptable to Midlothian High School and Chesterfield County Public Schools,” he wrote to the school community. 

Abel said that the student made the post off campus using a personal device. He emphasized that the student was not a football player, and that student privacy laws prevent the district from releasing information about any disciplinary actions. 

He continued: “Situations such as this underscore the importance of ongoing conversations with students about the serious consequences of inappropriate and harmful social media use. We ask families to reinforce with their students the expectation that they use social media responsibly, respectfully and in a manner consistent with the values of our school community.”

The account the image was posted from was named “Midlo Barstool,” a reference to the Barstool Sports website, which often embraces a crude comedy style.

Both the image and account that it was posted on have since been taken down.

Wells died while on a trip with friends on Horn Island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast this past summer. His death received national attention, and a recent autopsy report released by the Wells’ family listed the cause of his death as “undetermined”, although a grand jury found his death to be “consistent with drowning.” 

Suspicions around his death also made headlines, including from his own family, like the possibility that his death was racially motivated being that he was the only Black person in the group. 

When The Richmonder reached out to Chesterfield County School Board Chair Lisa Hudgins for comment, CCPS spokesperson Shawn Smith responded, asking The Richmonder to accept Abel’s response to the school community on behalf of school members. Hudgins represents the district Midlothian High School sits in.

Mike McCall, communications director for the Virginia High School League, said the league “does not oversee individual student conduct that occurs outside of League-sanctioned activities, including activity on social media,” when asked for comment. 

“Those matters fall under the authority of local school divisions, which are best positioned to address them under their own policies,” he wrote in an email to The Richmonder. 

Richmond Public Schools also issued a statement this week, calling the post a “threatening and racially charged” image that “understandably caused pain and concern among students, families and members of the school community.”

“We want to be clear that RPS does not take matters like this lightly,” the district wrote, adding that administrators at Huguenot High are communicating with students that support is available for those affected, while reinforcing with students the importance of responsible social media use.

The act has also so far received condemnation from parents in both school districts, as seen in social media posts online and as reported by WRIC and WTVR. 

“I just can’t believe we’re in 2026 and this is what we’re still dealing with,” Chesterfield parent Gabrielle Coleman said to WRIC. 

Contact Reporter Victoria A. Ifatusin at vifatusin@richmonder.org. Reporter Eleanor Shaw contributed to this report.