Anotherparent, Jim Rullo, delivers a prepared statement onbehalf of the victims families. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. He was 40 years old. It stated that, at the camp,. says McElroy. "They have to be lying.". We care about kids. We love our community. Perhaps most prominent among the group are Victor and Kristina Reichstein, who have criticized the school's principal, John F. Didden, and the team's head coach, Kevin McElroy, from the beginning. Our community is being blamed. When several parents received threatening letters after speaking out about the incident, emotions ratcheted higher. Experts: Parents and coaches must be vigilant to curb hazing in teen Also it brings down students self esteem. Football coaches fired in alleged hazing aftermath Hes well known as abully. On 10/29, the Mepham varsity football team won their away conference game against Sewanhaka (Floral Park, NY) by a score of 27-12. But its notthe only time I hear neighbors, even parents, floatthis notion. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. A day later, the threeboys were suspended, and a student. Yeah, that shit gotfreakin blown up. The Bellmore-Merrick school boards decision not to rehire the coaches next year has taken a stake and driven it right through the heart of the community again, said head coach Kevin McElroy. MINEOLA, N.Y. -- Mepham High School football coach Kevin McElroy said Tuesday he was "shocked" by allegations that members of his varsity squad sexually abused younger players and said he. The grand jury criticizes the school district for not providing adequate supervision during the weeklong camp, and says the district should adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward violent behavior. Gavin Roman broke the state record for most catches in a season during Holy Spirit's 63-34 rivalry win against Atlantic City in Absecon. Students should not have to tryout for school sports. 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. Ken Carney, 16, the ringleader of the attacks, was well-known by school administrators as a disciplinary problem. Were doing this so they donthave to., In July, when Reichsteins son, an incomingfreshman, showed up for football practice, a junior onthe teamthe linemanstarted calling himand some of the other boys pussy,faggot, and cocksucker.Reichstein went to McElroy. A school divided Students split over Central board's decision to cancel Ke Huy Quan Continues His Winning Streak at the Independent Spirit Awards. Nothing.". Involuntary deviate sexualintercourse. One of the attackers was allowed to attend camp despite a history of disciplinary problems and not having a permission slip. 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. I don't have psychic skills. He had to tell people what happened to him," says Carol. Decent football player, though.. After all, theywerent just studentsthey wereathletes.. When people talked aboutMepham, they talked about Famous Amos. 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. That, thelineman says, is the kind of man his father was. Trending News After Allegations of Abuse, A Football Season Is Canceled He previously suffered a brain aneurysm on February 18, and was ultimately taken off life support. Relatives of the victims, 13 and 14 at the time of the attacks, expressed satisfaction at the outcome. He alwayslistened. 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. Heresisted, and according to his version of events, heremembers a JV coach telling him to roll with it. display: none; The victims didn't tell us. Everybody knew I got hazed in the lockerroom, he says. No! "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. 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. The public was barred from the hearing, but the penalties and the judges comments were disclosed by relatives of victims, lawyers and cops. They feel a sense of guilt and shame that holds them back from saying anything and we see this is the Mepham High School Football case. Sofia was sent to a boot camp, and Carney was sent to a juvenile detention center. As she accepts her Someone to Watch award on stage. In 1994, Wesley Bergerwas a Mepham freshman, a football player with a shelfof trophiesMVP for the peewee league,fastest-runner and best-tackler awards. I told him what hazing was, he says.I did not explain to him that hazing wasgolf balls, broomsticks, and pinecones.Reichsteins son was unharmed; three otherfreshmen werent so lucky. He did more for me than any coach ever. at Garden City. And McElroy neverprevented him from playing on the varsity team. 1999, McAlester High School, Oklahoma: A football player suffered a head injury after he was jumped by older teammates in a locker-room hazing. "We went out. Then it became a football school. October 11, 2014 / 7:28 PM / AP. Oct. 20, 2003. Everyone in the pews has heard how the father had beendevastated by the criminal charges his son was facing.Aggravated assault. Thanks for contacting us. And I know the family of one of theattackers. I want to thank my assistant coach who is the baseball expert. After bullying allegations, Middleton coach allowed to resign with 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. The coaches let him go, the report says, ''because he was a good football player. The Mepham High School football season was eventually cancelled and the three upperclassman were charged with "involuntary deviate sexual intercourse," "aggravated assault," "kidnapping," "unlawful restraint," "false imprisonment," "terroristic threats," "criminal coercion," "simple assault," "reckless endangering of another person," "ethnic Theres no way youcant play me. Half that shit they didisnt even that bad.. . Theres fury and finger-pointingandopportunityon all sides in this corner of LongIsland. !Effin this, effinthatyoure not coming on my team,youre done, youre done, youredone! And I started screaming at him.. False imprisonment. The way they walked? His dadsaved his friends life that day. He strokes his sisters hair withone hand and slides an arm around his brothersshoulders. 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. All the negative attention has galvanized them, they said. For a select number of fortunate athletes, that dream becomes a reality when they commit to a school and sign their letter of intent. In the bunks, 17-year-old players were assigned to watch over 13-year-old boys. Those kids are running at full speed. Soon after the first revelations of the attacks, the Reichsteins reached out to newspapers and television stations with their story. They reallycouldnt do anything about it. School administrators, however, let him get on the bus anyway. Parents demanded:Shouldnt they have been there to stop theseboys? However, it seems too important to let go. #inline-recirc-item--id-a617c056-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan shows just that. It's, like, they're monsters," says Patty. Including intelligent heated gloves, soothing foot rollers, and classic cabbage-shaped servingware. "He was waiting for them [the coaches] to come in and save him, but no one came," says Carol's husband, Vinny. But I justgot off the phone with the mother of one of thevictims, and she told me that were her bestadvocate. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. The coaches' lawyer and officials for the Bellmore-Merrick School District did not comment on the report's findings or its criticisms. The school's 2003 football season was canceled amid allegations that three varsity football players sexually assaulted three . In that case, new players at. We said, 'Are they hurting you?' Anyone can read what you share. It involved a fight amongteenage boys. For many years, people have been debating about whether sports teams for kids should have selective tryouts. Once in high school, senior athletes have scouts that come out to see them play. Imagine your best friends making the school soccer team and you getting cut, because your not ready or there is no room. It's the biggest week of the year for high school wrestling fans. And the report provides the most detailed glimpse yet into the weeklong football camp and the assaults that took place in two cabins last summer. Student athletes are not getting the opportunity to play multiple sports during the year, because they are expected to spelize in one sport and focus on it year round, leaving no opportunity to play other sports or do other activities. He was always in troubleat school, but not in football. What about, say, having your head flushed in a toilet? Long Beach. We got all new things to bring to pack. In earlier interviews, the head coach, Kevin McElroy, and his four assistants have said they did not know about the attacks, and could have done nothing to prevent them. Students attend a pep rally at Mepham High School in Bellmore, N.Y. The team did it along with some guidance from my assistant coach and the parents. At this point, though, those feelings have mostly worn off, replaced by a different set of reactions, from weary resolve to dark humor. This story has been shared 140,209 times. But for the victims' families, the report came as a vindication, they said. "He [my son] called several times. They were later suspended from classes on September 18. ", Are they lying? They have become activists, who say that the incident is just part of a pattern of problems in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District. This was the 94th meeting between the two schools . And his youth. My sonthinks its just a bad thing that went too far,too fast., Andy mentions what some people are sayingthatwhat happened at camp was part of a pattern of hazingat Mepham. Sofia LaSpina first Long Island female football player to score TD Now when they talk about Mepham, they use the wordssodomy and hazing. 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. "All of a sudden, you get this child who's been broken. 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 . Waiting outside in front of the hearseis a police escort, to ward off the media. Not a lot of kids are good enough to play in the top college sports programs in the country. Criminal coercion. For Carol's son, it doesn't end. How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh Mary explodes. When the victims came forward, the team closed ranks.Kids who were said to have witnessed the attacksrefused to talk, even though the longtime coach of thePirates, Kevin McElroyCoach Mac to anyone whoknows himwarned them that the season would endif they didnt come forward. Theyre a beautiful family. "He was screaming. "These boys were like 6 feet 2 inches and 6 feet 4 inches, and roughly 250 lbs. 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? Did a kid come and tell us? The football players were unfairly penalized by the sanctions that were placed on the team. According to a local new report, two older students called the boy to the back of the bus and, in addition to the wedgie, punched the 13-year-old in the groin and stomach all as a part of an initiation ritual. 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. At first, shock and disbelief prevailed. The Mepham-Garden City football game this week could be a juicy one. Hed just beat upon peoplehed be walking by andboom! You could just seehe had so much anger in him. What about the boys who were raped? You may notstart, but youll be on the team.. During his career, the prolific actor inhabited an array of troubled characters. Thepurported ringleader, according to police, was thelineman. Does heknow this for sure? This was a sexual attack!, Are we gonna argue about this? But they dont want to appearself-serving, he says. Coach Mac talked to my mom, convinced us tostay. The answer to all those questions is no.". It would be the adventure of his life five days of intense football in the woods of Pennsylvania. On 11/4, the Mepham varsity football team won their home conference game against MacArthur (Levittown, NY) by a score of 14-7. On September 17, the Bellmore-Merrick Central HighSchool District Board of Education canceledMephams football season. During the first day of camp, the hazing was minor, such as one player smearing gel and powder into another's hair. They had complained to the coach and the principal before football camp that their son, a freshman, had been bullied and threatened by one of the boys who was later charged in the attacks. This email will be used to sign into all New York sites. Three varsity players are charged by Pennsylvania authorities with sodomizing three junior varsity players with broomsticks, pine cones and golf balls. I'm grabbing all the medication out of my cabinet and looking for everything that I think he's gonna hurt himself. Still, they will be held accountable for what they did on some level, she added. 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. And coming in, you expect it.Youre ready for it., From what I heard, the guys stuck his head inthe toilet, and that was it.
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