Imagine your best friends making the school soccer team and you getting cut, because your not ready or there is no room. And my son said, 'They inserted a broomstick.'". Signup for our newsletter to get notified about our next ride. "I don't want everything he's gone through to be just a waste. Our community is being blamed. She says Didden said no twice.Thats when Vic stood up and called Didden aliar. A pack of teenagers congregates across the street from Mepham High School, smoking their . But for the victims' families, the report came as a vindication, they said. "He came to me and said, 'I'm bleeding. This incident could have been foreseeable by the coaches, and possibly the administration, if the coach reported anything to the principal and athletic director. In the southern reachesof Long Island, nestled between the bucolic SouthernState Parkway and the fast-food joints and cardealerships on Sunrise Highway, the four small townsof Bellmore, North Bellmore, Merrick, and NorthMerrick make up a solid community of working- andmiddle-class families. This wasn't just something that happened when the lights went out.". 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. Anyplayer that wants to be on the football team can be onthe team. "He said to him, 'Don't even think of sleeping at football camp. Password must be at least 8 characters and contain: As part of your account, youll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime. He never brought this incident toMcElroys attention; he must have brought it tothe JV coachs attention. But the school board was unswayed by the coaches defenders. No," says McElroy. 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. If such a policy had been in place, one of the attackers would not have been allowed at the camp, the report says. On 11/4, the Mepham varsity football team won their home conference game against MacArthur (Levittown, NY) by a score of 14-7. A day later, the threeboys were suspended, and a student demonstrationerupted behind the schoolto the delight of theTV crews camped out there. Mephamsstudent body is pulled from the northern part of thecommunity, where there are $50,000-a-year jobs and theschool parking lot is dominated by Chevys and Fords. I heard the kidliked it.. Dangerous Minds - CBS News Kristina and Vic Reichstein stand upand say their son, a freshman, was threatened by thelineman during practice in July and August. This was a sexual attack!, Are we gonna argue about this? Theres a no-cut policy. Touring the world with friends one mile and pub at a time; ut austin undergraduate majors Newsletter . On September 17, the Bellmore-Merrick Central HighSchool District Board of Education canceledMephams football season. And don't you dare tell,'" says Kristina, who lobbied to get Carney thrown off the trip. Touring the world with friends one mile and pub at a time; As we mentioned earlier, the freshmans mother mentioned to coach McElroy the fact that the upperclassman was calling her son those insulting names. 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. Dominick Novello #2, Mepham quarterback, throws a pass during a rain-filled Nassau County football Conference II semifinal against Long Beach at Shuart Stadium on Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. West Jersey Football League all-stars: United Division, 2022. On the second day, the incidents became brutal. It's a couple of days.' Yet to place responsibilityon any adult, coach or parent, means at leastpartially acquitting the kids; to suggest that someoneshould have stopped them is to believe that they couldhave been stopped. You may notstart, but youll be on the team.. For a select number of fortunate athletes, that dream becomes a reality when they commit to a school and sign their letter of intent. Which mayexplain why Coach Mac, in his only public statement,has concurred with Caramore. Since the scandal began, parents of students have squabbled among themselves and with members of the school administration over everything from the decision to cancel the football season to whether the school district could have prevented the incident. Doyou know who I am?, The freshman, trying to show a little backbone,replied: This is America. But one kid whogot it in the shitter, hes just like afag., Yeah, he says. It was horrible. It's the biggest week of the year for high school wrestling fans. Thursday, November 6, 2003 Posted: 1537 GMT (11:37 PM HKT) Story Tools. And people who might have had the chance to prevent this incident are not being held accountable.''. And he's looking for something in the house to hurt himself.' Hes been introuble before, that kid. The answer to all those questions is no.". It was supposed to be fun, and glorious. mepham high school football scandal - tourdefat.com Sofia was sentenced to the boot camp and Carney to the detention center both in Pennsylvania. On Bellmore Avenue, themain drag in town, a mile or so east of Mepham,Docs Pub serves as an unofficial class-reunionspace. Youth sports are becoming too intense for young children to keep up with. By the end of three exciting days in Atlantic City, 14 champions will emerge at the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics State . This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. We love our children. When the school board canceled the football season and suspended the coaches, the community actually split -- between those who supported the victims' families, and those who wanted to save the coaches and the season. ", "Did a parent come and complain to us? Relatives of the victims, 13 and 14 at the time of the attacks, expressed satisfaction at the outcome. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. That was until Berger started practicethe August before his freshman year. He had his little list. This story has been shared 140,209 times. "And if you had a broomstick stuck up your rectum, you'd be screaming and fighting forever to make sure that didn't happen, wouldn't you? They had hoped that the three assailants (Phil Sofia, Ken Carney, and Tom Diasparra) would be tried as adults for the crimes. On September 17, the Bellmore-Merrick Central HighSchool District Board of Education canceledMepham's football season. A Pennsylvania judge imposed strong penalties yesterday on two teens who sexually abused younger players at a high school football camp sentencing one to a military-style boot camp and the other to a juvenile detention center. Were more Jewish! another kidyells, laughing. Of course this thing escalated tosodomy, Berger says. The public was barred from the hearing, but the penalties and the judges comments were disclosed by relatives of victims, lawyers and cops. They reallycouldnt do anything about it. Parents demanded:Shouldnt they have been there to stop theseboys? Regardless, I was all about making them the best well-rounded people before they head into the cruel world. I am 13 years old and I am on the Friendswood junior high C-football team I am a second string slot receiver and starting strong safety and I 'm also a second string strong side linebacker it was our last game of the season,so we really wanted to go out on the win or a record for the season was one way in five losses and one tie,we hadn 't had a great season so we especially wanted to go out on a win. Most are no longer talking about the issue publicly, tired of the maelstrom of feelings that is stirred each time. Brackets for the 2023 NJSIAA State Wrestling Championships in Atlantic But rather, in my opinion, how could the coaches have known?" He says the coach started yelling.Hes like, No! What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan shows just that. (Smith/AP) Last week's criminal charges involving six New Mexico high school football players alleged to have sexually . The incident angered the victim's mother, who. There were no screams like that.". } ''Our parents are being blamed. The coaches are suing to get their jobs back. He was always in troubleat school, but not in football. Hazing scandal rocks high school | News, Sports, Jobs - Lawrence Rick Scott Is Unfortunately Right About Novak Djokovic. We're checking it off. Anotherparent, Jim Rullo, delivers a prepared statement onbehalf of the victims families. Where does it end?". Coach speaks out for first time on LI football team hazing allegations What's more, before camp, parents Victor and Kristina Reichstein say Carney threatened their 13-year-old son. The abuse occurred day and night, and young players were attacked repeatedly and forced to sodomize each other, the report says. Due to the poormoral character of your children, Kristina saysCaramore told the parents, this investigationis not moving forward. She stood up and askedDidden twice if any child had been threatened beforethe camp incidents. He was just frightened," says his father, Vinny. Berger says his friends persuaded him to stay off theteam. Relatives read from the books of Matthew and Wisdom.And then the linemanwhom classmates call abully, who would shove kids hed never even metinto lockers as they walked bystands suddenly,stepping out from his place in the front, and walksback eight rows to give a bear hug to his littlebrother, seated next to his mother (who was divorcedfrom the father). Mepham High School Football Coach Anthony Cracco's Sex Scandal Has Bellmore . display: none; A day later, the threeboys were suspended, and a student. They were carried outover several nights, with several victims, one of whomrequired surgery for his injuries. Just because someone shows up and participates, doesnt not mean they deserve the same treatment as everyone else. At this point, though, those feelings have mostly worn off, replaced by a different set of reactions, from weary resolve to dark humor. The morals, the attitudes, of a Mepham student,are different, suggests another Kennedy player,Danny. Parents are paying up on school meals again. The three attackers were charged with involuntary deviate sexual intercourse after they sodomized the younger players with pine cones, golf balls and a broomstick in August at a football camp in Preston Park, Pa. 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. "He was robbed of his innocence. Theyre investigating the possibility that some students were planning to attack their schoolmates. I said, You wantto lock me in a locker and laugh for an hour, fine.But Im not down with urine, dude., At the beginning of his junior year, Berger says, heshowed up to start the season. JUDGE SLAMS MEPHAM HAZERS - New York Post Travis Barkers Finger Is Now the Enema of Blink-182 Fans. At last nights meeting, one player called the coaches caring role models, and team captain Dan Cosenza hugged McElroy. I want to thank my assistant coach who is the baseball expert. . The sentences are indeterminate, but will be reviewed every four months. NEW! And his youth. In the case of my four month concussion, there are residual mental and physical problems. Adds Jesse: Mepham kids say,Youre from Kennedy, and punch us.Theyre the bully school, the physical school.Even in middle school, we knew which kids were goingto Mepham and which to Kennedy.. If three victims getanything close to that much each, it would devastatethe school districts budget. He taught us not to run away from ourproblems., How old were these kids, 16, 17? saysAndrew Longaro. Meet the Long Island High Schooler Who Made History With a Touchdown Nothing.". And one of the leaders selected joined with two other varsity players to sodomize these children. They were later suspended from classes on September 18. Over the course of five days, their sons were brutally sodomized by their teammates. (516) 569-4000, To donate or for more information, click here, Chamber, mayors office are no match for the Thunderbolts. "They had bags of ice and they were bashing it all over his body until the bags broke. 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.". Students should not have to tryout for school sports. But even those who are, still have an astonishingly low chance at making the professional leagues. Try as they might to rid themselves of it, students, parents and other residents are finding that the incident is now woven into the fabric of life here. Football is important to the high school experience and different familys history around the world. "The kid who just made the tackle," says Cannestro, identifying one of the players on the tape. That boy was not hurt at camp, but other kids were. Including dishwasher-safe Japanese porcelain, two sets of French-made knives, and a sleek kettle. Wesley?Wesley was a nasty rat bastard! says Cannestro. When people talked aboutMepham, they talked about Famous Amos. Thanks for contacting us. His dadsaved his friends life that day. Since returning from camp, he has barely slept. Carol said it appeared Conway had sentenced Sofia to the boot camp because he disliked the teens attitude. Experts: Parents and coaches must be vigilant to curb hazing in teen One afternoon after practice, they air theirtheories, the chief one being that the lineman musthave been traumatized as a kid. } "You didn't monitor him very carefully, obviously," says Patty of what happened to her 13-year-old son. But they dont want to appearself-serving, he says. Now the Reichsteins have written the stateDepartment of Education, demanding an investigation. The coach wentalong with canceling the season because he knew kidswere not coming forward. Some parents and athletes believe equal playing time for all sports and activities is deserved all through their middle school and high school careers. "I assumed he was homesick, so I said, 'Stick it out. "He's victimized because I asked him to do a favor in this. There's coaches. Whether its being in thelocker room, making sure everybodys on the samepage, rallying the troops, or making sureeveryones focused on the task at hand., How do you weed out the undisciplined players?On any high-school team, the seniors give you alittle bit of a hard time, he says. 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.. On 10/22, the Mepham varsity football team won their home conference game against South Side (Rockville Centre, NY) by a score of 49-18.