All the while, older players watched and laughed. Of course this thing escalated tosodomy, Berger says. "He was absolutely screaming. "You didn't monitor him very carefully, obviously," says Patty of what happened to her 13-year-old son. That hasnt satisfied parents whocomplain about the lost scholarships, the deflatedhomecoming celebration, and the fund-raisers for othersports, all of which depend on football and are nowruined, theyre saying, because of a couple ofmessed-up kids. Most of themare yelling. "I had a personal conversation with one of the victims daily, and not once did he indicate to me that anything was wrong," says Cannestro. When tryouts begin these individuals hope their skills and abilities will get them recognized by not only the coaches, but the returning players as well. Its all fun and games, saysMcDermott. Mepham High School football head coach Anthony Cracco says LaSpina is the perfect role model for anyone who wants to just play because she worked hard and never got discouraged, adding there's a . Why wasn't there a coach sleeping in the cabins? He gave his son a cellphone. Clutching their schoolbooks in their arms, Allie and Sarah said they actually felt tremendous pride in their school these days. The district's superintendent, Dr. Thomas Caramore, defended the decision in a letter to the community earlier this month, saying the principal spoke with the boy and the coach before camp, and there was no way of anticipating the attacks. The report criticized the Wayne County judge, Robert Conway, for his decision not to move the attackers' cases from juvenile to adult court. The parishioners sing Make Me aChannel of Your Peace. And then the younglineman, who charged onto the varsity squad hissophomore year at W.C. Mepham High SchoolHomeof the Piratesis in tears. Before lastmonth, Mepham High was generally known as anabove-average school with a robust athletic program.Fathers and sons have played for the Mepham Pirates,and Saturday football games are huge social events.The players are the schools heroes: With thepossible exception of Roone Arledge, Mephamsmost famous alumnus has been star Pittsburgh Steelersrunning back Amos Zereoue. A football captain begged for the season to be reinstated, and his pleas were met with thunderous applause. Before the 68 varsity and junior-varsity players left the Long Island communities of Bellmore and Merrick to attend the weeklong camp in Preston Park, Pa., coaches warned the team that hazing would not be tolerated, and spelled out the edict in a note sent home to players' parents. Conway could have sentenced the three including Phil Sofia, 17, and Ken Carney, 16 to juvenile jail until they turned 21 or he could have given them probation. They speak ofbroomsticks, pinecones, and golf balls. And he stands where the priest stood and speaks,reading from crinkled sheets of paper rapidly, almostinaudibly, in a low monotone. How could we have known?". Go to the back of theline.. The conversation easily shifts to a defenseof Coach Mac. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. "The bottom line is, if we did anything wrong, we wouldn't be sitting here talking to you," says Cannestro. When Patty and Jimmy's son came home, he told them he had been sodomized, too. That blond buzzcut, the baby face, the meager beginnings of agoateehes only 16, too young to beburying his father. Sofia LaSpina has etched her name in Long Island history. Dont eventhink about sleeping at camp, he said. Kevin McElroy, the man in charge of the football camp and Mepham High School's head coach, has remained silent for the last six months. Not like Wesley Berger, Vic says.Hes overexposed.. McElroy and his coaching staff claim they had no responsibility for a vicious alleged hazing incident at a training camp in Pennsylvania in August. On September 17, the Bellmore-Merrick Central HighSchool District Board of Education canceledMephams football season. Once rated one of the best academic high. But the victims told their parents they were screaming at the top of their lungs. And he told us that they were keeping them up. He triedseriously to treat him as a regular kid, like nothingever happened. That washazing! Although some parents claim that their child has felt so defeated by an unsuccessful tryout that they dont want to continue with the sport, this is not always what happens. Mary explodes. The Nassau Conference II showdown between these two unbeatens has . Once rated one of the best academic high schools in the nation, Mepham High is now mired in scandal. At this point, the victims would have already suffered numerous attacks. The answer to all those questions is no.". According to her, Didden said he wouldinvestigate the incident. We've received your submission. At this point, though, those feelings have mostly worn off, replaced by a different set of reactions, from weary resolve to dark humor. Some say that although they are shocked and angry over the incident, they are torn over whether the alleged attackers, still juveniles, deserve long prison sentences -- which they would face if they are tried as adults, as the prosecution wants. Theyre a beautiful family. At least one group of parents has decided they will continue to speak out. It has been more than a month since school officials and prosecutors revealed that three older players were accused of sodomizing three freshmen with broomsticks, pine cones and golf balls in an attack in late August at a preseason football camp in Pennsylvania. Research shows that 70% of kids drop out of sports for many reasons and not making the team is one. I don't have psychic skills. Moreover, they must spend money on equipment, clothing, and food (37). Meanwhile, Nassau police on Monday found a found a cache of weapons near the school including baseball bats and golf clubs. We were afraid they would walk away with probation.. Terroristicthreats. "There's nothing anyone else could have done differently," adds Cannestro. display: none; Thanks for contacting us. That, thelineman says, is the kind of man his father was. On 10/29, the Mepham varsity football team won their away conference game against Sewanhaka (Floral Park, NY) by a score of 27-12. How Tyrel Jackson Williams Brought TikTok Cringe to, Its sort of a newer version of the L.A. actor ride that Kyle is on the first two seasons, but its worse.. My sons not. Theyre sick of reporters, andtheyre worried about the lineman. As well as rebuking the attackers, the report criticizes the school system and the Pennsylvania judge who handled the cases. Kristina and Vic Reichstein stand upand say their son, a freshman, was threatened by thelineman during practice in July and August. And would you let it happen a second and third time? They had hoped that the three assailants (Phil Sofia, Ken Carney, and Tom Diasparra) would be tried as adults for the crimes. Many parents, especially those with children on the football team, have found it hard adjusting to their new reality in the center of a fishbowl. "The kid who just made the tackle," says Cannestro, identifying one of the players on the tape. He taught us not to run away from ourproblems., How old were these kids, 16, 17? saysAndrew Longaro. Not a lot of kids are good enough to play in the top college sports programs in the country. Instead, they were treated as juveniles. A grand jury report later described how they used duct tape to pull off their children's pubic hair, how they forced them and another boy they sodomized to kick each other in the groin, and then threatened to beat and kill all of them if they told anybody. Everyone should be so lucky.''. Despite the linemans threats, noone could have anticipated what happened atcamp, Caramore told parents in a speech, adding thatwhatever happened wasnt hazing:None of us in Bellmore-Merrick has used thatterm to define what is, in fact, a brutalcrime., The hazing-or-not debate is a key factor in the legalbattles to come. But the school district, which canceled the football season last fall, has now, after seeing the grand jury report, relieved the coaches of their teaching positions at Mepham. The team did it along with some guidance from my assistant coach and the parents. Mysons season has been completely fucked up! On 11/11, the Mepham varsity football team won their neutral playoff game against Long Beach (NY) by a score of 14-0. What's gonna come out of this is another parent is gonna say, 'Oh, I'm gonna make sure there's no hazing at my school.'" We dontalways understand, and we dont alwayssee. He attempts a little levityIknow he shared his hopes for the Yankees with theLordbefore straining for profundity:The great artist has finished hisportrait. He urges the mourners to say a prayerfor the family. But even those who are, still have an astonishingly low chance at making the professional leagues. The way they walked? And one of the leaders selected joined with two other varsity players to sodomize these children. They reallycouldnt do anything about it. It is in the best interests of our students and the success of our program that the present coaches not be re-appointed, said Bellmore-Merrick school-board member Norbert Billig. This story has been shared 140,209 times. A few blocks from school, Allie Pagano and Sarah Mirenda, both 14, stop at the local pizza shop, Luigi's, on their way home. He was riding the bus along with varsity members, who held him upside down. Days later, the school wentahead with its annual pep rally, in a gesture ofsupport for Coach Mac and the sidelined Pirates. Did you know that depending on the sport, students who play sports in college most likely have less than a 2% chance of becoming professional athletes? Watch this highlight video of the Mepham (North Bellmore, NY) football team in its game Recap: Mepham vs. Long Beach 2022 on Oct 15, 2022, Watch this highlight video of the Mepham (North Bellmore, NY) football team in its game Recap: Mepham vs. Sewanhaka 2022 on Oct 29, 2022. OK. I dont evencare what they did.. MEPHAM COACHES BOOTED IN HAZING SCANDAL News MEPHAM COACHES BOOTED IN HAZING SCANDAL By Kieran Crowely November 6, 2003 5:00am Hugged by his team captain and cheered by supporters, Mepham. Oh, Loosey! Including intelligent heated gloves, soothing foot rollers, and classic cabbage-shaped servingware. "My son came forward, did something that he did not want to do. How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh At last nights meeting, one player called the coaches caring role models, and team captain Dan Cosenza hugged McElroy. For Carol's son, it doesn't end. ", Patty says her son also hasn't recovered from the ordeal: "About a month ago, I had gotten a call from a neighbor. The coaches, however, say that, in attempt to deal with Carney's threats to another member of the team, they put Reichstein's son in the cabin closest to them, and asked an upperclassman to keep an eye on both boys. No one understands this better thanMark Alter, the lawyer for the alleged ringleader.The fact that its egregious allegationsdoes not necessarily mean its not a juvenilecase, says Alter. I was by far the besthalfback on the team, Berger says, now 23 butstill angry. Our community is being blamed. When athletes experience head trauma, they only recover a little, which might end their career early or other times people never recover. .component--type-recirculation .item:nth-child(5) { So it just goes on and on. One was sent to a boot camp, another to a juvenile treatment facility and the third returned home on probation. Hasnt hebeen through enough? According to the nine-page report, the culture of hazing and a lack of supervision and safeguards to protect students led to the sexual assaults that occurred in August while Mepham's varsity and junior varsity teams prepared for the season at a camp in Wayne County, Pa. Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza do not seem like a match made in action-comedy-chemistry heaven, but it somehow works. It looks like a tasty treat for any high school football fan. I'm grabbing all the medication out of my cabinet and looking for everything that I think he's gonna hurt himself. I want to bepart of the team.. According to the report, two of the attackers held down one of the freshmen while the third sodomized the freshman with a broomstick coated with Mineral Ice, a pain-relieving ointment. Nassau County Girl Scouts fundraise for victims of quake in Syria, Turkey at Masjid Hamza, Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions. PARLIN, N.J. - The investigation at a New Jersey prep football powerhouse that has led to sex crime charges against seven teens prompted an almost unheard-of . 10 /r/oldmenvssluts2, 2023-02-07, 11:04:47 California makes flag football a girls' high school sport 56 /r/california , 2023-02-05, 17:36:57 . All the negative attention has galvanized them, they said. Those kids are running at full speed. Three varsity players are charged by Pennsylvania authorities with sodomizing three junior varsity players with broomsticks, pine cones and golf balls. "Something happened in between those practices every single time, to my son. We got the ball first on kick off and we made a touchdown on the first few drives.On. At a school-board meeting onOctober 1, packed with camera crews and angry parents,Superintendent Caramore tries to explain that hazingsimply doesnt happen at Mephamthatfootball was canceled not because of what the boysallegedly did but because their teammates neverreported it. #inline-recirc-item--id-a617c056-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-a617c056-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { (CNN) -- Five football coaches at a Long Island high school lost their jobs Wednesday night in fallout from an alleged . Youre old enough to knowwhat youre doing., I had some friends who were older, saysMcDermott. "He [my son] called several times. By Michael Luo. Thursday, November 6, 2003 Posted: 1537 GMT (11:37 PM HKT) Story Tools. Just because someone shows up and participates, doesnt not mean they deserve the same treatment as everyone else. Sofia was sent to a boot camp, and Carney was sent to a juvenile detention center. But I justgot off the phone with the mother of one of thevictims, and she told me that were her bestadvocate. The fact thatthese studies show the prevalence of this conduct inmany hazing situations supports a conclusion thattheres no reason to believe that this wouldhave occurred outside of such a setting, or abelief that such conduct would reoccur., Besides, he notes, the juvenile-justice systemaffords kids a second chance. What went wrong? Should they also get paid the same amount even if another co-worker is better at their job? Five football coaches at the center of the Mepham High School sexual abuse scandal will not be allowed to coach the team next year, the Bellmore-Merrick school board said on Wednesday. asks McElroy. (516) 569-4000, To donate or for more information, click here, Chamber, mayors office are no match for the Thunderbolts. I think they hated me because I introduced the pull-up to their strength and conditioning program. "He came to me and said, 'I'm bleeding. The school also erred by putting the coaches in one cabin and leaving the players in other cabins, supervised only by an older teammate, the report says. The coaches would have to be everywhere at thesame time, says Dave Hill. One student lifts up another and dumps him, legs flailing, in a bush. When trying to become a professional athlete, one must start playing sports as early as possible (Ferguson 34).Playing sports comes with many sacrifices. McElroy was practically a secondfather to Zereoue when the running back moved to ahome for wayward boys in Bellmorearriving, toMephams good fortune, at the start of hishigh-school career. In my opinion, a good education is so very important for our countrys youth, especially the athletes. The priest declares that the father had nothingbut life ahead of him. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google We love our children. Colleges and the NCAA can make money selling jerseys and other souvenirs that might include the likeness of players, yet the actual players never receive a cent. We as coaches donot see this incident as hazing, he said,but as a criminal act., Coach Mac has an attorney, Joseph Rosenthal, who isshifting the blame right back to the parents.The coach is a very dedicated, sincereperson, the lawyer says. Most high school athletes across America share one common aspiration: play their sport at the next level in college. Some parents and athletes believe equal playing time for all sports and activities is deserved all through their middle school and high school careers. What we're saying is, I notice when somebody's limping. Expect to be held accountablefor your choices and actions. Be truthful.From The Mepham Way, Mepham HighSchools honor code, 48 MINUTES OF HELL, A LIFETIME TO REMEMBERSlogan on a Mepham Pirates football T-shirt. Did a kid come and tell us? College athletics are oftentimes not as glamorous as one would think. No," says McElroy. The coach told Bergerhe needed a physical. He says the coach started yelling.Hes like, No! I cried," says Carol, who asked her friend, Jim Rullo, to make a speech on her behalf. Ultimately, its gonnabe a civil case. Abner Louima sued the New YorkPolice Department for $155 million, eventuallysettling for $8.75 million. During the recessional, he submits to a seeminglyendless succession of embracesmuch like theones he received from his former teammates last nightat the wake. Parents are paying up on school meals again. Athletes must commit time to practice and traveling. What's more, the 16-year-old ringleader of the assaults had his own history of disciplinary problems. Students should not have to tryout for school sports. Heand a group of kids have me surrounded. Theres fury and finger-pointingandopportunityon all sides in this corner of LongIsland. The guy grabbed me in front of the wholeteam, Berger says. They have criticized the coaches and school district for lax supervision, accusing Mepham officials of ignoring the long disciplinary record of one of the three attackers. ''Despite these warnings and policies, the players all expected hazing to take place in one form or another at the camp,'' the report said. "We're not animals. Tryouts are the worst thing about sports, they bring nothing but more stress to your plate. Thepurported ringleader, according to police, was thelineman. McElroy says district policy discourages it: "To put a coach in the room, you're putting the coach or the adult right now at incredible risk of sexual charges.". No!! We're in education because we love kids.". On a Friday morning in August, 60 kids were droppedoff for the bus ride to Pennsylvania. We got all new things to bring to pack. He called the school boards decision 100 percent unjust..