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.
the usual homo-erotic ritualistic team/frat antics. Of course this stuff has gone on for decades all over but these guys got caught. Tell me the coach had no idea...
The next step for the seven teenage Sayreville football players charged tonight in the hazing scandal will be to appear before a Superior Court judge who oversees criminal cases involving juvenile defendants who are under the age of 18. ...
Additionally, the juveniles would have criminal records if convicted of the crimes in adult court and could be registered as offenders under Megan’s Law.
Six of the seven juveniles are currently being held by law enforcement authorities until a Family Court judge decides whether the youths should be held at a detention facility pending a court hearing or will be released to the custody of their parents or guardians pending the hearing. One of the teens has not yet been taken into custody.
Their identities were withheld because of their ages. The juveniles range in age from 15 to 17 years old.
The complaints filed today by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office charge that on various dates between Sept. 19, 2014, and Sept. 29, 2014, one or more of the juvenile defendants held the four victims against their will, while other juvenile defendants improperly touched the victims in a sexual manner. The victims were also juveniles. Link - ( New Window )
the usual homo-erotic ritualistic team/frat antics. Of course this stuff has gone on for decades all over but these guys got caught. Tell me the coach had no idea...
IMO Getting held down and sodomized has not gone on for decades all over. Hazing sure but with the advent of camera phones and lots more over sight things have changed a bit.
This isn't an isolated case but "all over" seems a bit broad for what went on there
It is not unusual for football coaches to be elsewhere Â
while players are in the locker rooms. It's not an excuse but football teams usually have 5-6 coaches at least. There needs to be at least one on the locker rooms.
teams across the country were underclassmen aren't sexually assaulted, a large number of the with hazing (some of it homo-erotic, yes) - I don't think this is the usual stuff.
It's sexual assault. What a humiliating experience for those victims, and what sickness on the part of the perpetrators. I HATE bullies of all sorts, but these kids, SMH. And this goes on all over...remember pictures of Marines (I think) sticking safety pins through the nipples of new recruits, and other sickness? It's all about power and control combined with, as said before, homoerotic themes and a desire to shame.
Hazing occurs in football and is designed to initiate the younger kids to be part of a team/family. This wasn't hazing and more like a humiliation on part of gang.
Hazing occurs in football and is designed to initiate the younger kids to be part of a team/family. This wasn't hazing and more like a humiliation on part of gang.
Since when has hazing actually made kids part of a team? It just shames them and puts the younger kids in their place, and then gets re-perpetuated year after year in order for the former victims to now experience power in the same way that they were previously made to feel shame and lack of power.
Kids find lots of other healthy ways to bring new members onto teams, all the way down to Little League. It's called friendship, mentoring, "I've got your back", any sort of welcoming that lets a new kid know he or she is accepted. You'll get a lot more productivity from newbies from that type of welcome than you would from intimidating them.
over the summer before the first practice a responsible coach would lay down the law to what is or is not acceptable behavior in terms that are crystal clear
Hazing occurs in football and is designed to initiate the younger kids to be part of a team/family. This wasn't hazing and more like a humiliation on part of gang.
Since when has hazing actually made kids part of a team? It just shames them and puts the younger kids in their place, and then gets re-perpetuated year after year in order for the former victims to now experience power in the same way that they were previously made to feel shame and lack of power.
Kids find lots of other healthy ways to bring new members onto teams, all the way down to Little League. It's called friendship, mentoring, "I've got your back", any sort of welcoming that lets a new kid know he or she is accepted. You'll get a lot more productivity from newbies from that type of welcome than you would from intimidating them.
Since when was it not part of joining a team? Sports, fraternities, sororities, etc have always had a tradition which is a bit uncomfortable yet all in good fun. The leaders, teammates and brothers welcome those initiated as they all share a bond. It's been around forever. This wasn't hazing though.
i don't get it. who the hell would stick their finger up someones butt Â
had it happen to them as freshman. While that is still no excuse and I agree they should be arrested, stopping there feels shallow. There should be adults held criminally responsible at least to some extent. I don't know the charges, maybe child endangerment, neglect something. These children were in their care. They were the adult responsible for their safety and they failed and allowed these assaults to take place as part of the organization they were heads of. It is likely this was happening for a long time, boys don't collectively just start doing something that extreme but instead it probably escalated over a period of years, learned and passed from one class to another. These coaches were in charge of the house of horrors and I don't believe for a second that they didn't have some idea of what was happening.
We agree that this has been probably going on from Â
at the feet of the adults here. I find me it hard to believe that coaches knew the extent and seriousness of what was going on and failed to address it. It defies logic. It may be that some adults need to be called to account, but let's see what the investigation brings before making claims that it was an institutional failing.
Maybe they didn't sit there and watch every detail Â
But they had to know something awful was happening and chose to either ignore or look the other way. I don't care what the reasoning, they failed these children and are responsible because the child's safety was their responsibility! Parents entrust their children into their care and they failed them so yes they should be blamed and held responsible.
blame the kids who did this. Seniors are 17/18 years old. They know right from wrong and how to hide the bad stuff from adults including coaches and parents.
RE: Very likely this has been going on for years and they Â
had it happen to them as freshman. While that is still no excuse and I agree they should be arrested, stopping there feels shallow. There should be adults held criminally responsible at least to some extent. I don't know the charges, maybe child endangerment, neglect something. These children were in their care. They were the adult responsible for their safety and they failed and allowed these assaults to take place as part of the organization they were heads of. It is likely this was happening for a long time, boys don't collectively just start doing something that extreme but instead it probably escalated over a period of years, learned and passed from one class to another. These coaches were in charge of the house of horrors and I don't believe for a second that they didn't have some idea of what was happening.
I played for the Bombers both as a freshman and Varsity. Granted it was 17 years ago but this stuff wasn't going on when I was there and it was the same coach, ect. The freshman team was rarely around the varsity so I don't understand what happened over the last few years.
a phenomenal coach and human being. I can't imagine he could have known any of this was going on. One article said the kids were running back to the locker room after practice and hitting the lights off and doing the hazing stuff in 2 minutes or less. Who knows. But this is mind blowing to me.
When you lead and develop young men and women... Â
One of the most important thing to exercise as a leader is proper supervision. That doesn't mean micromanaging as much as knowing what goes on around you. There was a total lack of supervision of we were to believe that the coaches had no idea what was going on.
other constantly. Yeah they probably crossed paths from time to time but its not like these kids were all in the locker room together day in and day out like the media is trying to portray. The freshman practiced on different fields and had completely different game times, Usually around 5:30. Im telling you, when I was there, the freshman rarely even saw the varsity teams.
Pretty fucking gross the things some of these guys did. Â
Nobody claims (that I'm aware of) that Joe didn't know. That's just plain factually inaccurate. He's condemned for knowing and "washing his hands" of it once reported to school superiors. The most common defense I've heard is that the saintly Joe in his decades on earth never once heard of pedophilia and could not conceptualize a man sodomizing a boy in his pristine brain.
Now whether or not the coaches had any knowledge of this remains to be seen. I'd like to think they didn't, but I don't have that much faith in humanity.
in a large number of those cases. I agree that it's been done for years, but I believe it's about power dynamics and putting folks in their place. There are tons of shallow bullies in the world who don't have "good fun" in mind for anyone but themselves and who direct their sadism at those who have lower status or are physically weaker than themselves.
I wasn't bullied myself, not did I ever bully anyone else. There are lots of other ways to bring others into a group. Many groups have fun initiations, while others have cruel and/or sadistic rituals. I think that the latter speak to personality characteristics of those developing the rituals, and are "not all in good fun" or designed to make everyone feel closer to each other.
Considering what happened, i can't say you're wrong. I can't quite grasp what occurred conidering the hazing i was part of, witnessed or heard of. This is off the charts.
Considering what happened, i can't say you're wrong. I can't quite grasp what occurred conidering the hazing i was part of, witnessed or heard of. This is off the charts.
Agreed. But I've seen lots that approach this but aren't quite assault...just still sick.
We can all do better. I did therapy in middle schools for a while, and the crap that 6th graders had to deal with from 8th graders twice their size was pathetic and infuriating. It wasn't condoned by school officials, but even other 8th graders had a choice to make -- either stand up to the bullies in their midst and risk being targeted themselves, or either sit passively or take part themselves in a cowardly but somewhat understandable act of self-preservation. What's been proven to be needed in those situations is for whole groups of "anti-bullies" to get activated and stand up for those weaker than themselves if schools are to put a stop to this. Some pretty cool anti-bullying programs have been initiated in recent years using those techniques, and where they have been they seem to be quite successful.
Off topic, I recognize, but interesting, I thought.
PARLIN, N.J. (AP) — The last of seven high school students facing sex crime charges amid a hazing investigation that canceled a New Jersey prep football team's season has surrendered to authorities.
Middlesex County prosecutors say the youth surrendered early Saturday, but declined to release further information due to the defendant's age.
The six other students, ranging in age from 15 to 17, were arrested Friday night in connection with the assaults at regional football power Sayreville War Memorial High School. Link - ( New Window )
in first comment on hazing scandal, says he is uncertain of his future'
In his first brief comment since a sexual hazing scandal upended the Sayreville football program, head coach George Najjar said today he is uncertain of his future with the team.
Najjar, reached by telephone at his Belford home, was asked if he would remain head coach of the Bombers, the team he has shepherded to three state sectional titles in the past four years.
“That’s a question I need to work out with the administration,” Najjar said.
The coach, who has headed the football program at Sayreville War Memorial High School for two decades, said he appreciates that members of the community want to hear from him on the hazing scandal, but he said he is not ready to talk.
“There will be a time and place when I have something to say, but now is not the time,” he said. “I need to sit down with the administration.” Read more: - ( New Window )
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... Â
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.
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. Link - ( New Window )
Kill the pig! Cut his throat! Kill the pig! Bash him in! Â
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."
“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.”
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." Link - ( New Window )
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 Â
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?
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. Read more: - ( New Window )
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." Read more: - ( New Window )
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." Link - ( New Window )
Penn State Drops Sayreville Star Myles Hartsfield From Commit List Â
"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."
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.
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. Read more: - ( New Window )
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.
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?
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.
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 )
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.
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 Â
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.
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.
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 Â
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.
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.’ ” Read more: - ( New Window )
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.
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.
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.
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 Â
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?
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? Â
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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
Additionally, the juveniles would have criminal records if convicted of the crimes in adult court and could be registered as offenders under Megan’s Law.
Six of the seven juveniles are currently being held by law enforcement authorities until a Family Court judge decides whether the youths should be held at a detention facility pending a court hearing or will be released to the custody of their parents or guardians pending the hearing. One of the teens has not yet been taken into custody.
Their identities were withheld because of their ages. The juveniles range in age from 15 to 17 years old.
The complaints filed today by the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office charge that on various dates between Sept. 19, 2014, and Sept. 29, 2014, one or more of the juvenile defendants held the four victims against their will, while other juvenile defendants improperly touched the victims in a sexual manner. The victims were also juveniles.
Link - ( New Window )
IMO Getting held down and sodomized has not gone on for decades all over. Hazing sure but with the advent of camera phones and lots more over sight things have changed a bit.
This isn't an isolated case but "all over" seems a bit broad for what went on there
Since when has hazing actually made kids part of a team? It just shames them and puts the younger kids in their place, and then gets re-perpetuated year after year in order for the former victims to now experience power in the same way that they were previously made to feel shame and lack of power.
Kids find lots of other healthy ways to bring new members onto teams, all the way down to Little League. It's called friendship, mentoring, "I've got your back", any sort of welcoming that lets a new kid know he or she is accepted. You'll get a lot more productivity from newbies from that type of welcome than you would from intimidating them.
Quote:
Hazing occurs in football and is designed to initiate the younger kids to be part of a team/family. This wasn't hazing and more like a humiliation on part of gang.
Since when has hazing actually made kids part of a team? It just shames them and puts the younger kids in their place, and then gets re-perpetuated year after year in order for the former victims to now experience power in the same way that they were previously made to feel shame and lack of power.
Kids find lots of other healthy ways to bring new members onto teams, all the way down to Little League. It's called friendship, mentoring, "I've got your back", any sort of welcoming that lets a new kid know he or she is accepted. You'll get a lot more productivity from newbies from that type of welcome than you would from intimidating them.
Since when was it not part of joining a team? Sports, fraternities, sororities, etc have always had a tradition which is a bit uncomfortable yet all in good fun. The leaders, teammates and brothers welcome those initiated as they all share a bond. It's been around forever. This wasn't hazing though.
I played for the Bombers both as a freshman and Varsity. Granted it was 17 years ago but this stuff wasn't going on when I was there and it was the same coach, ect. The freshman team was rarely around the varsity so I don't understand what happened over the last few years.
Not even close to this case.
Nobody claims (that I'm aware of) that Joe didn't know. That's just plain factually inaccurate. He's condemned for knowing and "washing his hands" of it once reported to school superiors. The most common defense I've heard is that the saintly Joe in his decades on earth never once heard of pedophilia and could not conceptualize a man sodomizing a boy in his pristine brain.
Now whether or not the coaches had any knowledge of this remains to be seen. I'd like to think they didn't, but I don't have that much faith in humanity.
No idea what you're typing about. Just don't see it.
I wasn't bullied myself, not did I ever bully anyone else. There are lots of other ways to bring others into a group. Many groups have fun initiations, while others have cruel and/or sadistic rituals. I think that the latter speak to personality characteristics of those developing the rituals, and are "not all in good fun" or designed to make everyone feel closer to each other.
Agreed. But I've seen lots that approach this but aren't quite assault...just still sick.
We can all do better. I did therapy in middle schools for a while, and the crap that 6th graders had to deal with from 8th graders twice their size was pathetic and infuriating. It wasn't condoned by school officials, but even other 8th graders had a choice to make -- either stand up to the bullies in their midst and risk being targeted themselves, or either sit passively or take part themselves in a cowardly but somewhat understandable act of self-preservation. What's been proven to be needed in those situations is for whole groups of "anti-bullies" to get activated and stand up for those weaker than themselves if schools are to put a stop to this. Some pretty cool anti-bullying programs have been initiated in recent years using those techniques, and where they have been they seem to be quite successful.
Off topic, I recognize, but interesting, I thought.
Middlesex County prosecutors say the youth surrendered early Saturday, but declined to release further information due to the defendant's age.
The six other students, ranging in age from 15 to 17, were arrested Friday night in connection with the assaults at regional football power Sayreville War Memorial High School.
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In his first brief comment since a sexual hazing scandal upended the Sayreville football program, head coach George Najjar said today he is uncertain of his future with the team.
Najjar, reached by telephone at his Belford home, was asked if he would remain head coach of the Bombers, the team he has shepherded to three state sectional titles in the past four years.
“That’s a question I need to work out with the administration,” Najjar said.
The coach, who has headed the football program at Sayreville War Memorial High School for two decades, said he appreciates that members of the community want to hear from him on the hazing scandal, but he said he is not ready to talk.
“There will be a time and place when I have something to say, but now is not the time,” he said. “I need to sit down with the administration.”
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The town is very much still recovering from sandy
I'm worried this will force the town into bankruptcy bc you know the litigation is going to fly, insurance in place or not
Lousy situation for a town that was reeling
Disgraceful
In comment 11912478 Chris in Philly said:
Did someone say "you guys hold him down and I'll stick my finger in his ass"?
WTF is wrong with kids today.
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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In some respects, IMO.
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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"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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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.
Apparently this is a well known method of transferring Ebola.
...
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?
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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
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"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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"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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“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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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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No problem with a real jail sentence, obviously...
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.
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.
It has implied in the media that two co-captains of the football team are part of "the seven".
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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.
And you are a horse's ass.
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).
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.
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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“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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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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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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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?
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.
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?
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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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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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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What a disaster.
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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