The coaches say they were staying in another cabin less than 50 yards from the players, and if anyone screamed, they would have heard it. On September 17, the Bellmore-Merrick Central HighSchool District Board of Education canceledMephams football season. We care about kids. And he's looking for something in the house to hurt himself.' no.". There were no screams like that.". Students have pushed their bodies to the limits, causing extreme injury that will hold them back from sports in the future. CNN. This is a sore pointfor Mary. However, earning your position, being undeserving of playing time, and coaches trying to win in their respected program are all issues that need to be thought of before people begin fighting for equal playing time. He suggests that broomsticks,golf balls, and pinecones are consistent withtraditional forms of hazing. 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. The police call what happened in August at thePirates five-day training camp a series ofAbner Louimastyle sex attacks (though,curiously, no student interviewed by police has evenmentioned Louimas name). He said no," recalls Carol. On 11/4, the Mepham varsity football team won their home conference game against MacArthur (Levittown, NY) by a score of 14-7. The morals, the attitudes, of a Mepham student,are different, suggests another Kennedy player,Danny. Also, sleep-away sports camps will no longer be authorized by the school district, Billig said. 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. Thanks for contacting us. Some kids even approach them and suggestthat the time has come to let bygones be bygones.Their logic is biblicalan eye for an eye.The linemans father died! Watch this highlight video of the Mepham (North Bellmore, NY) football team in its game Recap: Mepham vs. MacArthur 2022 on Nov 4, 2022. The report criticized the Wayne County judge, Robert Conway, for his decision not to move the attackers' cases from juvenile to adult court. 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 intimidation, and criminal conspiracy. Judge Robert J. Conway chose to try the accused as juveniles. Instead, they were treated as juveniles. The emotional impact on him is unbelievable," adds Carol. 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. He taught us not to run away from ourproblems., How old were these kids, 16, 17? saysAndrew Longaro. Since returning from camp, he has barely slept. Travis Barkers Finger Is Now the Enema of Blink-182 Fans. "The bottom line is, if we did anything wrong, we wouldn't be sitting here talking to you," says Cannestro. I want to bepart of the team.. Both told stories of defending their school when they were teased by students outside the district and cited the ''Mepham Pride'' buttons that they and many classmates have taken to wearing. 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 . Parents demanded:Shouldnt they have been there to stop theseboys? Once rated one of the best academic high schools in the nation, Mepham High is now mired in scandal. 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. According to the report, ''a lack of accountability appears to permeate the entire structure of the administration and running of this camp program.'' Imagine your best friends making the school soccer team and you getting cut, because your not ready or there is no room. We're in education because we love kids.". . NEW! He had his little list. This has allowed more and more players to look to PEDs in order to gain an edge over their opponents. He was 40 years old. display: none; But at a hearing in Honesdale, Pa., President Judge Robert Conway barred 16-year-old Tom Diasparra from returning to the Bellemore, L.I., high school and warned him to watch his step. On the second day, the incidents became brutal. What LAppartement 4F Co-owner Ashley Coiffard Put on Her Wedding Registry. I think hes adirtbag. MaxPreps is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. 2022 Fall Boys Football New York: Long Island Division II. Terroristicthreats. Sofia was sent to a boot camp, and Carney was sent to a juvenile detention center. Now the . "He was laying in bed with a big butcher knife in his hand 'cause he was scared. Youth sports are becoming too intense for young children to keep up with. 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. The coaches let him go, the report says, ''because he was a good football player. They also understand they will need to sacrifice time, energy, and their social life in order to achieve these goals. All rights reserved. Kids have come to practice Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday, and Friday to get better, while their academics are suffering. "I don't want everything he's gone through to be just a waste. Who? "He came to me and said, 'I'm bleeding. 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. When the allegations surfaced in early September, the three accused teenagers were suspended from Mepham High School's football team. Because if these attacks are acceptedas hazing, then the school is responsible. In recent years, the Pirates havent done aswell, losing roughly as many games as theyvewon, but the coach remains a local legendafather figure who welcomes players to his house forbarbecues with his teenage daughters in attendance.Its not surprising, then, that McElroy and theadministration would be the first stop on thewhos-to-blame tour. Thelinemans fathers death on October 5created one delay in moving the case forward; otherdelays have been due to the attorneys effortsto bring the case back to juvenile status, and tonegotiate their clients surrender into custody. As she accepts her Someone to Watch award on stage. He was riding the bus along with varsity members, who held him upside down. His dadsaved his friends life that day. By Michael Luo. Go ahead. His broad shoulders are slumpedand trembling as he walks the coffin down the aisle ofSaint Barnabas Church in Bellmore, Long Island. In the bunks, 17-year-old players were assigned to watch over 13-year-old boys. Three varsity players are charged by Pennsylvania authorities with sodomizing three junior varsity players with broomsticks, pine cones and golf balls. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. The team did it along with some guidance from my assistant coach and the parents. This is hard tosayI know he was a good coach and a lot of kidsliked him. The coach wentalong with canceling the season because he knew kidswere not coming forward. Please enter valid email address to continue. Pertzborn and assistant coach Brad Rogeberg were made aware of the initial bullying on July 24, 2022, according to the police report. OK? I ask. Everyone laughs. 49 - 18 W. 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. They could be home as early as next month. ''Our issue is our children are being blamed,'' said Paule Pachter, one of the parents in the group. They speak ofbroomsticks, pinecones, and golf balls. 18 - 35 L. 10/15/2022. When a. Statistically showing, at least 100,000 college football players get hurt yearly. Most are no longer talking about the issue publicly, tired of the maelstrom of feelings that is stirred each time. 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. Werent theyalready on the right track? 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. These towns lost seventeenpeople in the World Trade Center attacks.Theyre places whose kids go to college locallyand then settle here and raise families. 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. He said his surgery was a success, but he needs time to heal before he can tour again. They did not come to help me.Rullo quotes the parent of that child as blamingprincipal John Didden, who did not protect mychild., Four days later, Rullo and two other parents who spokereceive identical profanity-laced letters in the mail,warning that if they keep speaking out, theyllalso get the broomstick treatment. The crime scene evidence that convicted Alex Murdaugh Relatives of the victims, 13 and 14 at the time of the attacks, expressed satisfaction at the outcome. Some have hired lawyers for their children. But the grand jury did not find the coaches criminally negligent. Theres fury and finger-pointingandopportunityon all sides in this corner of LongIsland. But its notthe only time I hear neighbors, even parents, floatthis notion. The priest declares that the father had nothingbut life ahead of him. #inline-recirc-item--id-a617c056-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { Hisfriend was a captain on the team, he maybe was gonnaget a scholarship. Kevin Minnick | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com | Dec 7, 2022. Into the locker! But they dont want to appearself-serving, he says. 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? McElroy and his coaching staff claim they had no responsibility for a vicious alleged hazing incident at a training camp in Pennsylvania in August. The grand jury says the five coaches who supervised the team were ''more concerned with being coaches of a football team than interested in the well-being of the players as students.'' Reichstein called Didden, whose reply, according toReichstein, was that there was no hazing at Mepham,because if there were, wed cancelfootball season. (Didden and his attorney didnot return repeated calls.) 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. Reichsteins wife,Kristina, then begged Didden to make an example of thelineman. It stated that, at the camp,. Kids in the bunks didn't tell us. The group, which calls itself Mepham Parents 4 Change, consists of eight families, but says it is quickly gathering support. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. But the happy boys these parents sent to camp last summer didn't return that way. Now, McElroy and Junior Varsity Coach Art Cannestro exclusively tell their story to 48 Hours. Most of these scouts are from college teams, and others are from, Every year individuals from all across the United States makes the decision on whether or not they will try out for an interscholastic athletic team. 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.". What Made Maddy Run by Kate Fagan shows just that. 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. Nothing.". Here's why food advocates are worried they cant afford it. *Sorry, there was a problem signing you up. Touring the world with friends one mile and pub at a time; ut austin undergraduate majors Newsletter . Once each school year, older Mepham students would beat up younger ones on school grounds in a ritual called ''Freshman Friday,'' the grand jury found. We got all new things to bring to pack. And one of the leaders selected joined with two other varsity players to sodomize these children. Considering the college scholarships that can be provided, the countless generations of players in certain families, and the homecoming activities would be pointless without it. A player tried to flush his head in a urinal. When I was in ninth grade, says Lohman,my father died and my mother wanted to move toFlorida. ''They continue to try to bury this thing and pretend they did everything they could, and that's just not true.''. He went to camp but didntstay in the fated cabin. Students attend a pep rally at Mepham High School in Bellmore, N.Y. Now even they, however, have grown weary, wishing for a return to their old life. And don't you dare tell,'" says Kristina, who lobbied to get Carney thrown off the trip. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Everyone in the pews has heard how the father had beendevastated by the criminal charges his son was facing.Aggravated assault. Mary is athird-generation Bellmoron. Her boy,Kyle, played varsity. When several parents received threatening letters after speaking out about the incident, emotions ratcheted higher. ''These assaults appear to have grown out of a history of hazing both at the football camp and at Mepham High School itself,'' the report says. It would be the adventure of his life five days of intense football in the woods of Pennsylvania. But critics say their mistakes started early. Other players laughed, the report said. Many have lost sight of the fact that baseball players are not the only athletes that face this life threatening addiction. Theres a no-cut policy. . I should just sit there and go, 'Hmm, he's hazing him.' 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. Nassau County Girl Scouts fundraise for victims of quake in Syria, Turkey at Masjid Hamza, Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions. The school's 2003 football season was canceled amid allegations that three varsity football players sexually assaulted three . The coaches are suing to get their jobs back. They were later suspended from classes on September 18. No. Wesley?Wesley was a nasty rat bastard! Doyou know who I am?, The freshman, trying to show a little backbone,replied: This is America. maize high school basketball roster. They hit his headon the porcelain and he got a concussion. The superintendent, while admonishing the team for notcooperating with the investigation, has also putforward a tidy defense of McElroy and the principal,Didden. (516) 569-4000, To donate or for more information, click here, Chamber, mayors office are no match for the Thunderbolts. At last nights meeting, one player called the coaches caring role models, and team captain Dan Cosenza hugged McElroy. 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. You know, what could be going on? It has been 11 years since three football players, ages 15 to 17, from Mepham High School in Bellmore, New York, were criminally charged with sodomizing teammates during a preseason. My sons not. Andbecause we were the group with Amos, our team isetched in his memory.. Dont eventhink about sleeping at camp, he said. Then it became a football school. It's the biggest week of the year for high school wrestling fans. But even those who are, still have an astonishingly low chance at making the professional leagues. 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. Hedoesnt have a senior season to put on hiscollege application., This guy comes to my job, says Andy.He says, Oh, Im in Mephamnow, maybe I should shove a pinecone up myass! I said, Thats notfunny. These guys on the team are gonna beharassed the rest of their fuckin lives., My son knows one of the boys who wasattacked, Mary says sadly. Even before three varsity players for the Mepham High School Pirates sodomized three freshman teammates at a football camp, using golf balls, pine cones and a broomstick, other classes of football players had hazed new members by beating them and dunking their heads into toilets, the report said. Students ''don't know who to blame,'' said Allie. Over the next few days, the broomstick assaults were repeated. He knows the mainkid, she says. (Almost as prevalent is the idea, notconfirmed by police, that the linemans fathercommitted suicide. It stated that, at the camp,. Offscreen, he was one himself. Criminal coercion. "They couldn't be further from the truth," says Cannestro. Most students, the girls say, have not gotten caught up in the anger and recrimination that have divided their parents. West Jersey Football League all-stars: United Division, 2022. Everything Everywhere All at Once has won in every category they were nominated for. Including dishwasher-safe Japanese porcelain, two sets of French-made knives, and a sleek kettle. They bashed him in his head, over his back, his legs, his arms," recalls Patty, who says her son was assaulted at least 3-4 times a day. Oh, Loosey! Not a wink. Heresisted, and according to his version of events, heremembers a JV coach telling him to roll with it. Those individuals who just made the team now deal with a problem that happens mainly from the. He said, 'Well, your son was just online and saying he can't take it anymore. In an earlier proceeding, the three attackers, charged as juveniles, admitted to the assaults. The kid that did it, I feel so bad forhim, the boy says. 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. 2023 Vox Media, LLC. A failure can be a downward spiral or a setback turning into a benefit. This story has been shared 140,209 times. Moreover, they must spend money on equipment, clothing, and food (37). 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. 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. We have more wealthy backgrounds, saysDanny. It's a couple of days.' Watch this highlight video of the Mepham (North Bellmore, NY) football team in its game Recap: Mepham vs. South Side 2022 on Oct 22, 2022. Tryouts are the worst thing about sports, they bring nothing but more stress to your plate. Go to the back of theline.. The sentences are indeterminate, but will be reviewed every four months. "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. 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. 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.. The Bellmore-Merrick Board of Education voted unanimously tonight to cancel this year's football season at a Long Island high school that had been reeling from allegations that three older. What's more, the 16-year-old ringleader of the assaults had his own history of disciplinary problems.