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NFT: Sayreville, NJ - 7 HS Football Players Charged in Hazing

sphinx : 10/11/2014 8:52 am
Seven members of the Sayreville, New Jersey, War Memorial High School football team were charged Friday night on multiple counts including aggravated sexual assault stemming from alleged attacks on younger players on the team, prosecutors said.

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Irrelevant side note ...  
sphinx : 10/11/2014 6:55 pm : link
This is a band with history: It boasts about having rock star Jon Bon Jovi playing in the trumpet section when he was a Bomber

I don't get the whole  
sb2003 : 10/11/2014 7:20 pm : link
finger in the ass thing. I wouldn't think it was funny or cool to forcibly stick my finger in another boys ass. I certainly wouldn't want other people knowing about it.

Did someone say "you guys hold him down and I'll stick my finger in his ass"?

WTF is wrong with kids today.
Perhaps if he expressed concern for the kids who endured this...  
Dunedin81 : 10/11/2014 7:30 pm : link
or the kids now facing felony charges, he might have a better outcome when facing that administration. Or, more likely, had he expressed similar concern months ago there would be no scandal and nobody would be facing said administration.
nj.com - October 11, 2014 at 7:07 PM  
sphinx : 10/11/2014 8:08 pm : link
It was no accident Friday that the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office charged seven Sayreville War Memorial High School football players for their role in a series of alleged sexual assaults, a parent of a player told NJ Advance Media Saturday.

It was no accident, the parent said, because the group of players involved in the extreme hazing ritual numbered seven, their son, a player at the school, confided.

Four players would pounce on a freshman, pinning him to the locker room floor. Two would provide lookout at the door. And one player would howl, cut off the lights and digitally penetrate the freshman.

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Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in!  
Cam in MO : 10/11/2014 8:26 pm : link
No?

In some respects, IMO.




Asbury Park Press - October 12  
sphinx : 10/12/2014 9:29 am : link
According to NJ Advance Media, police were seen arriving at the homes of Sayreville senior team captains Myles Hartsfield, a star running back and safety who is committed to Penn State University, and Dylan Thillet, who played on the offensive and defensive lines. It is not known if either player was charged.

Thillet's mother, Madeline, said during last week's contentious school board meeting, during which dozens of players and their parents protested Labbe's decision to shut down the football program, "I was at the police station with him when they were questioning him. They were talking about a butt being grabbed. That's about it. No one was hurt. No one died. I don't understand why they're being punished."

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This is what I mean by developing comraderie w/o hazing:  
yatqb : 10/12/2014 9:34 am : link
Jennings talking about the Giants' rookies:

Quote:
“I think as a rookie you do want to earn the respect of your peers and the coaching staff, there’s no doubt about that,” Jennings said. “But as a veteran, you want to eliminate that pressure. ... So if you can eliminate that cloud of peer noise and remind them they’re just playing football and cheer them on, pat them on the back and correct them with some love, that’s how you build a team.”
Whatever happened to the  
Zebra3 : 10/12/2014 9:41 am : link
Atomic wedgie and the old swurlie? Kids!
MyCentralJersey.com - October 12  
sphinx : 10/12/2014 9:47 am : link
According to Matt Hammond, who was part of the Sayreville program for the 2003 season, the team's coaching staff during his time there rarely supervised players in the locker room on practice or game days.

"I can count on two hands the number of times that George or any other assistant coaches were in the locker room," he said. "Actually, I don't remember another assistant coach being in the locker room for practices, games, everything. The only times that George or anyone was ever in the locker room — and it was only ever George — was for the vaguely religious pregame prayer."

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The kid was going to Penn State?  
Rob in NYC : 10/12/2014 9:48 am : link
Have to appreciate that the universe has a sense of irony...
RE: The kid was going to Penn State?  
sphinx : 10/12/2014 11:12 am : link
In comment 11913021 Rob in NYC said:
Quote:
Have to appreciate that the universe has a sense of irony...

Hartsfield, one of New Jersey's top football recruits, has verbally committed to Penn State, which has offered him a full athletic scholarship.

NJ Advance Media emailed Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour and assistant athletic director Jeff Nelson inquiries Friday night about whether the school still planned to honor their scholarship offer to Hartsfield.

"We continue to monitor the situation at that institution," Nelson replied in an email Saturday.

Nelson provided no further information.
RE: i don't get it. who the hell would stick their finger up someones butt  
glowrider : 10/12/2014 3:39 pm : link
In comment 11911929 gtt350 said:
Quote:
no less in a locker room with your team. good grief


Apparently this is a well known method of transferring Ebola.
RE: nj.com - October 11, 2014 at 7:07 PM  
glowrider : 10/12/2014 4:07 pm : link
In comment 11912615 sphinx said:
Quote:
It was no accident Friday that the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office charged seven Sayreville War Memorial High School football players for their role in a series of alleged sexual assaults, a parent of a player told NJ Advance Media Saturday.

...

Four players would pounce on a freshman, pinning him to the locker room floor. Two would provide lookout at the door. And one player would howl, cut off the lights and digitally penetrate the freshman. Link - ( New Window )


Absolutely despicable. I hope these guys are charged as adults - they exhibited enough wherewithal to demonstrate they understood what they were doing was worth posting lookouts, to say nothing of the actual horror of the rape of, what, 13-15 yr old boys?.

Adults all the way and charged with the highest of crimes. I hope they rot in hell.

The coaches appear to have been out of the locker when this went down, but how much do they know? Surely they've stumbled onto something or heard from somebody at some point over the lifetime of these events. These days what happens in the locker room (or anywhere) is basically public knowledge. Are they culpable if they end of being oblivious? Gross negligence?

What kind of terror must the victims have been going through? I can't fathom but it sounds like a nightmare. Who knows how this will affect their psyche over the course of their lives?

--

Ive been a pledge, I've played team sports like football and baseball, went to public school and was plenty bullied as a freshman. Never was I shamed, humiliated, assaulted, or otherwise made to feel genuine pain. Sure, noogies and wedgies; hiding towels; a couple drinking games and carrying books, bags, equipment and running laps around the track (sometimes all at once).

I know my experiences are share by a lot of you guys on this board. School was safe, if terrifying. You didn't have to worry about shootings or hazing (this word has changed like 'hooking-up' has changed). Low tech.

What the fuck is wrong with this generation? What is happening to cause this? Has it always been happening and now it's on the Internet? More awareness? Or are kids more fucked up than ever?

JFC

nj.com - October 12, 2014 at 5:17 PM  
sphinx : 10/12/2014 8:36 pm : link
Superintendent Richard Labbe told NJ Advance Media Sunday that he has not spoken with football coach George Najjar since the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office began its investigation into the alleged sexual assaults in the school's locker room. ... Labbe, who came under fire last week from parents after shutting down the program, said district officials were instructed by the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office not to speak to the coaches until their investigation is finished. ... Labbe also said he does not believe the coaching staff knew about the alleged hazing ritual in the locker room that led to charges against seven players Friday. He based his opinion on the initial findings of the prosecutor.
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nj.com - October 12, 2014 at 4:30 PM  
sphinx : 10/12/2014 8:39 pm : link
Based on the severity of the alleged sexual assaults in the Sayreville War Memorial High School football locker room this fall, the program could be suspended beyond this season, District Superintendent Richard Labbe told NJ Advance Media Sunday.

"I will say clearly: Whether we have a football program moving forward is certainly a question in my mind," Labbe said. "Based upon the severity of the charges, I'm not sure. I have to look at the results of the investigation. I have to await more information from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's office."

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This quarter was too fast  
Some Fan : 10/12/2014 9:03 pm : link
for us
Suspended, as would be expected ...  
sphinx : 10/13/2014 9:51 am : link
The seven students who have been charged in connection with the sexual assault and hazing of their football teammates will be barred from returning to school, the district says.

"While we are legally restricted from speaking about individual students, it would be fair to say that any student arrested in connection with the matter involving the football program is suspended from Sayreville War Memorial High School," said school board attorney Jonathan Busch, of the Busch Law Group. "We are in the process of arranging for an alternative education, pending further investigation."

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Penn State Drops Sayreville Star Myles Hartsfield From Commit List  
sphinx : 10/13/2014 11:57 am : link
"Sayreville captain and Penn State commit Myles Hartsfield, ranked either a four- or three-star athlete by most recruiting services, is no longer appearing on Penn State's commit list. Sources have stated the Nittany Lions are "moving on" from their previous scholarship offer in wake of the Sayreville sex abuse hazing scandal."

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'tried as adults giving leverage to prosecutors to pursue plea deals'  
sphinx : 10/13/2014 6:31 pm : link
Quote:
But right now, the future of the Sayreville Seven lies in the hands of the Middlesex County Prosecutor.

“What we have is a system that is highly deferential to the prosecutor,” said Alexander Shalom, senior staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

At issue is whether any of the seven members of the Sayreville War Memorial High School football team charged as juveniles in connection with a series of sexual assaults of teammates in the locker room will be tried as adults.

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Its sad when  
natefit : 10/13/2014 6:34 pm : link
a small town becomes known for one awful thing. Jusk ask residents of Newtown Ct. Sayreville will be known for this for a decade.
Jay Jefferson Cooke - asst editor, Courier News and Home News Tribune  
sphinx : 10/13/2014 7:11 pm : link
I say let the punishment fit the crime. Sodomy/rape is a serious crime.

The seven young men should be tried as adults. If these young men are convicted they should go away for 25 years or more in the East Jersey State Prison in the Avenel section of Woodbridge without the slightest possibility for early parole. Their parents/guardians and the school district should be sued for millions of dollars. They all absolutely should have to register as sex offenders under Megan's Law.

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This is disgusting  
Rob in NYC : 10/13/2014 7:38 pm : link
And goes well beyond boys will be boys, but that is a perversion (pun intended) of the intent of the sex offender registry that happens far too often.

No problem with a real jail sentence, obviously...
RE: This is disgusting  
Dunedin81 : 10/13/2014 9:30 pm : link
In comment 11918632 Rob in NYC said:
Quote:
And goes well beyond boys will be boys, but that is a perversion (pun intended) of the intent of the sex offender registry that happens far too often.

No problem with a real jail sentence, obviously...


Agreed. Megan's Law is not supposed to be about punishment, it's supposed to be about managing the risk of re-offense. If some sort of evaluation says that these kids constitute a risk, they should be required to register as part of any plea agreement or disposition. If not, likely not.
Agree with  
natefit : 10/13/2014 9:42 pm : link
the above 2 posts about the law being misapplied but let me ask you this. Spose one of the leaders of this hazing who is charged as an adult, that he and his family move to another state, which is entirely possible if not likely, to be a little more anonymous again. And they move next door or down the street from you and your two pre-teen sons. Wouldnt you want to know and know for sure?
RE: Agree with  
Dunedin81 : 10/13/2014 9:54 pm : link
In comment 11918777 natefit said:
Quote:
the above 2 posts about the law being misapplied but let me ask you this. Spose one of the leaders of this hazing who is charged as an adult, that he and his family move to another state, which is entirely possible if not likely, to be a little more anonymous again. And they move next door or down the street from you and your two pre-teen sons. Wouldnt you want to know and know for sure?


But the same is true of a guy with a pattern of assault, or of domestic violence, or of theft. It isn't my right to know, because that constitutes an ongoing, indeed an interminable punishment. If the statute says, or a therapist says, that the individual should be treated as a sex offender at risk of re-offense, then and only then do we get to know. If we want these registries to continue to survive constitutional scrutiny that distinction needs to be preserved.
WSJ - Oct 13  
sphinx : 10/13/2014 10:19 pm : link
Several former players said Mr. Najjar and other coaches rarely entered the locker room and put trusted varsity-team captains in charge of monitoring the room. None said they ever saw any inappropriate hazing.

It has implied in the media that two co-captains of the football team are part of "the seven".
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RE: WSJ - Oct 13  
glowrider : 10/14/2014 12:14 am : link
In comment 11918819 sphinx said:
Quote:
Several former players said Mr. Najjar and other coaches rarely entered the locker room and put trusted varsity-team captains in charge of monitoring the room. None said they ever saw any inappropriate hazing.

It has implied in the media that two co-captains of the football team are part of "the seven". Read more: - ( New Window )


Backs up the parent saying there were lookouts. Nobody is going to be left unpunished when this unfurls.
RE: These  
BMac : 10/14/2014 5:43 am : link
In comment 11911873 dontboobigblue said:
Quote:
Kids are gay


And you are a horse's ass.
RE: WSJ - Oct 13  
RC02XX : 10/14/2014 7:52 am : link
In comment 11918819 sphinx said:
Quote:
Several former players said Mr. Najjar and other coaches rarely entered the locker room and put trusted varsity-team captains in charge of monitoring the room. None said they ever saw any inappropriate hazing.

It has implied in the media that two co-captains of the football team are part of "the seven". Read more: - ( New Window )


Once again, when the adults relinquish their responsibilities of properly supervising those under their charge, they should be held responsible for what happens during their watch. Not only are these coaches at fault for not doing what any person in a leadership position should do (to supervise) but also for not knowing their players enough (I'm assuming that co-captains would have been in their system for a few years...giving the coaches plenty of time to gauge what kind of kids these were) to not put all of their trust into two sadistic fuckheads.

I hope these coaches get fired (at the least).
I see no reason why the football program isn't shut down for a long  
WideRight : 10/14/2014 8:09 am : link
time. Obviously a memorable statement has to be made by the authorities responsible for the safety of the students. Ten years from now the lesson should still be given.

Plus the future of high school football will soon be challenged by concussions and head injury liablitiy. Might as well wait until the issue is resolved rather than opening up the program only to be ensnarled in another safety related controversy.

I do object to trying these kids as adults. This hazing was so f'd up that only a juvenile mind could be lacking any modicum of judgement. Jail them as adults and they will become wards of the state for life. Manage them as sex offenders - which the ring leaders clearly are - and outcomes may not be as grave.
nj.com - Editorial - Oct 14  
sphinx : 10/14/2014 9:00 am : link
The head coach of Sayreville's football team, George Najjar, is still teaching gym at the school, even as his role in the hazing scandal remains unclear.

That's just wrong. It is too early to judge the coach's behavior -- too early to discern whether he was ignorant of the crimes committed under his nose, or complicit, or something in between.

But simple prudence demands that he should not be in charge of any locker room at the school until he is cleared of any wrongdoing. At this stage, no doubt for good legal reason, he is not making public comment.


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There is an irony here  
WideRight : 10/14/2014 9:58 am : link
Today's climate makes us weary of any adult that spends too much time with kids, particularly in a locker room. This guy's toast for staying too far away.
Sayreville hires high-profile crisis-management firm  
sphinx : 10/15/2014 5:16 pm : link
In the throes of a locker room sexual-abuse scandal that has brought with it deep divisions, acrimony and disgrace — and the arrest of seven of its students — the Sayreville school district has retained the services of a renowned public-relations and crisis management firm to help manage the fallout.

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Of course they did...  
Dunedin81 : 10/15/2014 5:24 pm : link
your tax dollars at work, paying a PR firm to minimize the reputational damage to the district, its faculty and its administrators over this scandal.
Najjar told players 'I don't trust you anymore'  
sphinx : 10/16/2014 9:06 am : link
The day before the school district abruptly canceled Sayreville War Memorial High School’s varsity football game against South Brunswick on Oct. 2, coach George Najjar met with players and told them “‘I don’t trust you guys anymore” and that he would need to supervise the locker room after practices, two varsity players told NJ Advance Media.

“From now on he was going to be with us, but the next day the game got canceled because a parent called the police station,” one player said. “[Najjar] said, ‘I had full trust in you and I shouldn’t be in there with you. But now if you guys are in there screwing around I have to be in there with you.’ ”

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nj.com  
sphinx : 10/17/2014 7:56 pm : link
Quote:
Three of the seven Sayreville football players charged in the sexual hazing scandal remained in custody Thursday night, according a lawyer representing one of the seven players.

East Brunswick attorney Richard Klein said the other four players have been released to their parents or guardians. While these kids may be home under house arrest, he said their lives have not returned to normal.

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Sayreville suspends football coaches after hazing scandal, sources say  
sphinx : 10/19/2014 9:13 am : link
The football coaches at Sayreville War Memorial High School who also teach in the school district have been suspended from their teaching and coaching positions, two sources with direct knowledge of the decision told NJ Advance Media.

The sources asked to remain anonymous because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

The coaches were not present in school Friday, one source said, although it was unclear exactly when the suspensions started. Five tenured teachers, one source said, are suspended with pay, including head coach George Najjar. State law prevents school district employees who have not been indicted with criminal charges from being suspended without pay. Authorities have not charged any adults in connection with the hazing allegations.


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nj.com  
sphinx : 10/20/2014 7:10 pm : link
Quote:
According to the Times' report, the accusing players may now be attempting to minimize the abuse out of fear of reprisals from their peers. One victim, who said he was penetrated by a finger during one hazing episode, tells the Times he was wearing football pants at the time and does not consider the attack to be serious.

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Thanks for keeping this going...  
Dunedin81 : 10/20/2014 7:19 pm : link
even though people aren't responding I've been following and I'm sure others have too.
Sadly peer pressure and  
LauderdaleMatty : 10/21/2014 1:22 pm : link
Shame will be part of this. No kid wants to be know as the kid who got a finger up his butt.
Peer pressure  
natefit : 10/21/2014 1:28 pm : link
and shame are daily fixtures of adolescence today more than ever. Social media is a big part of the why. Learning to accept and manage these emotions is why behavioral therapy has become so successful.
RE: I see no reason why the football program isn't shut down for a long  
T in NJ : 10/21/2014 2:25 pm : link
In comment 11918990 WideRight said:
Quote:
time. Obviously a memorable statement has to be made by the authorities responsible for the safety of the students. Ten years from now the lesson should still be given...


A statement? To who? Those responsible are now in the hands of the court, I'm sure that all the coaches will dealt with too.

So no one in Sayreville should be allowed to play football now?
RE: There is an irony here  
dorgan : 10/21/2014 3:09 pm : link
In comment 11919210 WideRight said:
Quote:
Today's climate makes us weary of any adult that spends too much time with kids, particularly in a locker room. This guy's toast for staying too far away.


You are the only poster who apparently realizes that it's a fine line between locker room supervision and being suspected of being a pervert.

And that I have witnessed. We had a coach that spent way too much time in the locker room (as far as I was concerned).
He didn't last beyond the first year.
Might have been completely innocent but when he started making the kids uneasy it was time to cut bait.

Is there a chance that what was said to have happened, didn't happen?  
BurberryManning : 10/21/2014 3:30 pm : link
There is a fine line between both accusing the accuser while at the same time presuming innocence over guilt with regards for those that do stand accused.

Perhaps it is wishful thinking but does there not still stand the realistic possibility that what was said to have transpired did not to the same disgusting degree, or did not transpire altogether?
NJ.com  
sphinx : 10/21/2014 6:46 pm : link
A decision by the Sayreville Board of Education to affirm or reject the suspensions of George Najjar and other members of the Sayreville War Memorial High School coaching staff who also teach at the school could come tonight, several sources have said. ...

Board members are expected to discuss the suspensions during a closed session of their regularly scheduled meeting tonight. The official meeting agenda released by the district does not directly make reference to the suspensions. Copies of the agenda made public last week say only that the board will review “personnel matters” during its closed session.

The formal vote on the suspensions must take place in public, according to state sunshine laws.

State law requires the suspensions proposed by a school superintendent be upheld by a majority of board members. The vote could be added to the public agenda immediately after the closed session.


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Board of Education upholds suspension of football coach George Najjar  
sphinx : 10/21/2014 11:31 pm : link
Quote:
After 20 years and three state titles, George Najjar has been removed as the head coach of the Sayreville War Memorial High School football team.

Najjar's suspension, along with that of four other members of his staff, was upheld by unanimous vote at a contentious meeting of the Sayreville Board of Education Tuesday night.

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8 Additional Coaches Let Go  
sphinx : 10/23/2014 8:38 am : link
Quote:
SAYREVILLE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — CBS 2 has learned that eight football coaches have been let go in connection with the Sayreville War Memorial High School football hazing scandal, in addition to the five coaches who were suspended.

Three paid part-time coaches and five volunteers were fired, a source told CBS 2’s Christine Sloan. The school board has not commented.


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Whether you agree with it or not  
Bockman : 10/23/2014 9:04 am : link
Or believe that the coaches didn't know anything was going on, the board had zero choice here. They have to at least attempt to shield themselves from the coming lawsuits.

What a disaster.
Bucks County Courier Times  
sphinx : 10/24/2014 12:31 pm : link
October 24, 2014
Quote:
The Central Bucks High School West football season has been canceled amid allegations of hazing and the forcing of a new player to grab another player’s genitalia during summer training sessions.

Superintendent David P. Weitzel said Thursday in a statement to the “community” that the varsity and junior varsity football programs were officially suspended and that the two remaining games, including Friday’s homecoming game with rival Central Bucks High School East and an Oct. 31 game against William Tennent High School, will not be played. Additionally, Weitzel said, the district suspended the junior varsity and varsity coaching staff “pending further investigation.”

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MyCentralJersey.com  
sphinx : 10/24/2014 10:49 pm : link
A national anti-bullying expert said he believes the Sayreville schools superintendent's stand may have contributed to two other high school football teams in bordering states canceling their seasons

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