<p>I am so ANGRY reading about this-- what is wrong w these sicko sociopathic kids??? </p>
<p><a href=“Examiner is back - Examiner.com”>Examiner is back - Examiner.com;
<p>I have been following this story as well. When I first heard that the season was cancelled, but no further details were being released yet, I guessed it had to do with hazing, but never thought it would be this bad. </p>
<p>This article has a bit more detail.</p>
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<p>One of the seniors was supposed to go to Penn State on a scholarship next year. That student would come with the kind of publicity the school doesn’t need right now, considering the specifics of the charges. I wonder how many of the team will have their college plans destroyed by these horrible actions. </p>
<p>I am waiting to see if the program is cancelled for just this year, or for 4 years until there is no one left who is involved with this situation around any more. I am not sure how I feel about that. I know the Freshman didn’t have anything to do with the abuse, so to punish them seems like punishing the victim, especially since they did the right thing and reported the situation. But, the entire program from the head coach down needs to be looked at very carefully and adjusted accordingly. Last month an assistant coach was found with steroids and needles. Have to wonder who they were for. </p>
<p>I’m by no means defending anyone, but just remember this is all alleged. Let’s wait and see what the facts show.</p>
<p>You needed to hear some of the comments from parents shown on local news. They were angry that this was costing their sons chances at college scholarships. No concerns for the victims or if their son had been a victim. Good example of football culture putting blinders on everything else. </p>
<p>The parents look bad however at the time they spoke I do not think they knew the hazing was sexual assault. They should have known it was serious by the supers comment that police and prosecutors were investigating but apparently they just took the word of their kids about what happened.</p>
<p>I am not sure you should end the program. If you remove the entire coaching staff and start again next year the seniors who were involved are all gone. It was apparently 7 seniors that were involved. Clearly the coaching staff is culpable for inadequate supervision at best.</p>
<p>I find it interesting that what could be the most severe case of hazing or sexual abuse discussed here on CC (if it is proven true,) is not getting more discussion.</p>
<p>If this happened at a college fraternity or sorority there would be calls from so many people that Greek life should be abolished and that this is another example of alcohol induced stupidity. Is football that sacred? </p>
<p>I am so repulsed by the whole thing I have been trying not to read about it frankly. </p>
<p>Living in NJ, I’ve been reading about if for the last week. I have nothing but disgust; football is not sacred.</p>
<p>I was particularly disgusted by the initial reactions of the football families; no, they didn’t know the extent, but by the reactions and actions of the superintendent and the police investigation, they knew it was bad. My H and I actually guessed right, unfortunately, that it would be some sort of sexual assault (heck, we live near Glen Ridge, so we know about nasty group sexual assaults, sadly). I have zero sympathy for people more worried about their kids’ football careers than for those kids who had been attacked.</p>
<p>I just read about it today. The first thing that struck me was that digital penetration without consent is legally rape in many, if not all, states. The penalties probably go way beyond hazing.</p>
<p>They really need to find out how long this has been going on. Were this year’s perps the victims of three years ago?</p>
<p>I am encouraged that at least some of this year’s freshmen received this as really wrong, that their parents agreed and supported them, and that the Principal immediately reported it to police. No effort to throw a cordon of silence around the beloved football program, in contrast to Steubenville.</p>
<p>Maybe something really is changing.</p>
<p>^yes! and the superintendent immediately canceled a game when the first allegations surfaced, and canceled the season before the charges came out, on the basis of what he knew and what was being investigated. I am very impressed with this man.</p>
<p>garland, I am in NJ also and the first day I heard about it was on 101.5 when everyone was trying to figure out what happened to cause such a strong reaction. From what they were saying you knew it had to be bad, although no one actually had been told what it was. </p>
<p>You had the same thoughts as we did, the fact that the school reacted so harshly and swiftly we also suspected it had to be something this serious and probably criminal. All they were saying was the game was cancelled, rumors were flying and parents were unhappy with the schools reaction. </p>
<p>Even now there are people saying it is just a rumor, that the school overreacted and their kids are paying the price for it. It is not just that they are not concerned with the kids who were possibly assaulted, they believe that it never happened and their own kids are actually the victims of a terrible rumor. Maybe they are in denial, or just can’t wrap their heads around it yet because their kids would never be involved with or put up with something like that.</p>
<p>If this is something that is passed down from year to year, then accepting that it happened, means accepting that it probably happened to their kids too. There is a lot of processing going on if it really is what it seems to be. </p>
<p>“Aggravated sexual assault is a first-degree crime and even a juvenile would face up to five years of incarceration if found guilty. A prosecutor would also have the option of seeking to charge any of those arrested as adults, when they might face substantially more prison time, leave them with criminal records, and require their registration as sexual offenders.”</p>
<p>Sounds like rape to me. </p>
<p>One of my relatives tells me that In the course of the investigation, they found steroids and needles in the possession of one of the football coaches. Not a surprise I guess, but more problems for the school. </p>
<p>I have been avoiding details and finally read the articles today. That’s beyond horrible - if one of my kids was assaulted like that I don’t know what I’d do - I’d probably be on the news getting arrested for beating up the coach or something.</p>
<p>No, everything points that the steroids were found <em>before</em> the allegations of sexual assault were revealed. Completely unrelated though I would be they will be testing the players for steroid use.</p>
<p>A few things:</p>
<h1>1: this is not the only sport where there have been sexual assault as part of hazing. There was a case with soccer last year at a pre-season camp. (in both cases, if the coaches say “hey, we weren’t there, we had no idea, WHY did they not supervise the kids?”)</h1>
<h1>2: You can bet dollars to donuts that before this happened, very very few Sayreville players had any attention from college scouts based solely on their HS performance. My son does not play football, but all you have to do is read up a bit on the top recruits. Their stats are from combines and camps. They mention what they did in HS as a sidenote. The only kids whose scholarships might be “jeopardized” are those who are being investigated (like the team captain who had a verbal commitment to PSU of all places…)</h1>
<h1>3: Maybe it’s a rumor, but there are multiple kids corroborating the story. The brief description of what happened was out pretty quickly, and a more detailed description is available now.</h1>
<p>It is just a sport, and it is sad if there are people who did not participate and did not observe what happened. There is an implication that there were 7 boys (note: they were ages FIFTEEN to 17, so I cannot see how a 15 or even a 16 year old would be a senior - therefore they are not all seniors) and one freshman victim, and no comment on whether there were others present.</p>
<p>I am sure, if it becomes clear that forty or fifty kids (there are over 60 on a football team, and they are talking about all three teams = over 150 kids sharing the locker room) observed this, they will start suspending other kids as well. Although, I’d think the most obvious scenario would be some guys hanging around while the freshman are in the locker room, and not doing anything until only one or two freshman remained. I cannot imagine forty or fifty kids being okay with the lights being shut off, and NOT report to the coach or the principal that the lights were shut off, sexual assault or not.</p>
<p>I live nearish to where this happened. It’s all over the news here. How could it not be?!</p>
<p>I’m stunned that some parents would say that this is just a made up rumor. Stunned. That’s some pretty serious denial. </p>
<p>I do hope that we find out exactly how long this has been happening at this school. I would not at all be surprised if the seniors had this happen to them when they were freshmen. How many have had this humiliation done to them? </p>
<p>I"m thankful that they have cancelled the season as this shows that they are serious in dealing with this rather then sweeping it under the rug hoping that it will go away. It can’t go away until the story has a full airing. Sunshine is always a good disinfectant. </p>
<p>Considering the massive publicity hazing has received and the large number of severe punishments, the stupidity of doing this is incredible. I would bet that school, like ours, has a code each player must sign which explicitly and in strong language lists forms of hazing as an absolute no and a reason to be kicked off a team. </p>
<p>Why is this called hazing when this is all about sexual assault? Hazing is defined as making the victims perform strenuous, humiliating, or dangerous tasks. How did this crime change from rape to a hazing?</p>
<p>I’m glad you’re calling it what it is- sexual assault. I’m so sick of reading people call it a “tradition” or some other cutesy word. No. It’s assault and quite possibly rape (according to a story I read early on.) </p>