mepham high school football scandal
. Know what is expected andacceptable. Be responsible. Please enter valid email address to continue. Thanks for contacting us. Also it brings down students self esteem. Some parents and athletes believe equal playing time for all sports and activities is deserved all through their middle school and high school careers. These parents are now lobbying for a national hazing law, one with severe penalties. Privacy Policy and Mary is athird-generation Bellmoron. Her boy,Kyle, played varsity. In the end, they will be left unprepared for life. They reallycouldnt do anything about it. 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. This was a sexual attack!, Are we gonna argue about this? 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. Touring the world with friends one mile and pub at a time; ut austin undergraduate majors Newsletter . In 1994, Wesley Bergerwas a Mepham freshman, a football player with a shelfof trophiesMVP for the peewee league,fastest-runner and best-tackler awards. Watch this highlight video of the Mepham (North Bellmore, NY) football team in its game Recap: Mepham vs. Long Beach 2022 on Nov 4, 2022. We said, 'Are they hurting you?' "He was robbed of his innocence. It's a couple of days.' Which mayexplain why Coach Mac, in his only public statement,has concurred with Caramore. Berger sayshe got up and called his dad, who went straight to thecoaches. Research shows that 70% of kids drop out of sports for many reasons and not making the team is one. The coach wentalong with canceling the season because he knew kidswere not coming forward. Anyplayer that wants to be on the football team can be onthe team. At middle schools, high schools and colleges across the country, everyone is arguing over whether or not students with failing grades should be allowed to play sports. I need to know for medical.' The lineman was furious. After Dax Shepard asked her about her musical chairs relationship situation. Anyone can read what you share. "He was absolutely screaming. Did either coach notice anything on these children's faces? 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. It looks like a tasty treat for any high school football fan. 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. 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. #inline-recirc-item--id-a617c056-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d ~ .item:nth-child(5) { They could be home as early as next month. 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. 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. A day later, the threeboys were suspended, and a student. Due to the amount of padding they have to wear, football players can easily disguise their size therefore keeping them from receiving scrutiny from the public. (516) 569-4000, To donate or for more information, click here, Chamber, mayors office are no match for the Thunderbolts. This guysstill the head coach., Its a fact of lifein Bellmore and Merrick that the farther south you go,the more money youll find. One of the attackers was allowed to attend camp despite a history of disciplinary problems and not having a permission slip. "I don't want everything he's gone through to be just a waste. And would you let it happen a second and third time? 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. South Side. By the end of three exciting days in Atlantic City, 14 champions will emerge at the NJSIAA/Rothman Orthopaedics State . My sons not. Webuilt a very good tradition with our team, and we justwant to make sure that anyone who wants to fit in onthe team knows about the tradition.. "There's nothing anyone else could have done differently," adds Cannestro. I was by far the besthalfback on the team, Berger says, now 23 butstill angry. Tell me why I should just know? He said no," recalls Carol. All the while, older players watched and laughed. I want to bepart of the team.. Coaches, the report says, were oblivious to what was occurring. I think hes adirtbag. And his youth. During the first day of camp, the hazing was minor, such as one player smearing gel and powder into another's hair. "He didn't go to school for a long time. Theyre a beautiful family. He quotes oneof the boys as saying, I will never trustanyone again. He was always in troubleat school, but not in football. The coaches also showed 48 Hours a tape never before made public - one they say was recorded on the last day of camp. 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. 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. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Those kids are running at full speed. Most high school athletes across America share one common aspiration: play their sport at the next level in college. Our community is being blamed. Not a wink. I cried," says Carol, who asked her friend, Jim Rullo, to make a speech on her behalf. Dont eventhink about sleeping at camp, he said. But he wonders whether whathappened at camp could have been prevented if hehadnt settled his lawsuit. 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). Jonathan Anderson gets one of the first qualities of great fashion that it has to feel a bit strange. Hed just beat upon peoplehed be walking by andboom! Thats when Berger says Coach Mac lunged athimhis hand reaching the boys throat. More than 60 players attended the camp, including the boy's best friend Patty and Jimmy's son who was also just 13. You know, what could be going on? I'm grabbing all the medication out of my cabinet and looking for everything that I think he's gonna hurt himself. He called the school boards decision 100 percent unjust.. Copyright 2023 IPL.org All rights reserved. Now, McElroy and Junior Varsity Coach Art Cannestro exclusively tell their story to 48 Hours. 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. What about the boys who were raped? Once the season started, eight players tackled him inthe locker room and lowered him into the toilet; thistime, he says, it contained urine. Four members of the faculty were either fired or forced out because of the scandal. On 10/29, the Mepham varsity football team won their away conference game against Sewanhaka (Floral Park, NY) by a score of 27-12. No! 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. We love our community. We're checking it off. OK. But these parents say the risk to their children was greater. Go ahead. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, Buster Murdaugh got 'very drunk' with dad 2 months after mom, brother murdered: source, I'm a professional cleaner ditch these 4 household products immediately, Shoeless Ariana Madix awkwardly tries to avoid cheating Tom Sandoval, Prince Harry was scared to lose Meghan Markle after fight that led to therapy, Prince Harry says psychedelics are fundamental part of his life, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant allegedly flashes gun at a strip club, Tom Sizemore And The Dangerous Burden of Desperation, Tom Sandoval, Raquel Leviss planned to tell Ariana Madix about affair. On 11/4, the Mepham varsity football team won their home conference game against MacArthur (Levittown, NY) by a score of 14-7. Nassau County Girl Scouts fundraise for victims of quake in Syria, Turkey at Masjid Hamza, Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions. All the negative attention has galvanized them, they said. Mysons season has been completely fucked up! Students should not have to tryout for school sports. But other voices emerge at the meeting, corroboratingthe victims contention that hazing is a fact oflife at Mepham. 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. Hes well known as abully. It was supposed to be fun, and glorious. ), I knew all those kids, saysanother boy, a JV player. 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. Sofia was sentenced to the boot camp and Carney to the detention center both in Pennsylvania. Duct tape was yanked from the victims' bottoms and pubic areas, and two of the victims were forced to smear Mineral Ice on their testicles, and then kick each other there, the report says. And he told us that they were keeping them up. Including dishwasher-safe Japanese porcelain, two sets of French-made knives, and a sleek kettle. The conversation easily shifts to a defenseof Coach Mac. 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. 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. OK? But they dont want to appearself-serving, he says. But one kid whogot it in the shitter, hes just like afag., Yeah, he says. ''They continue to try to bury this thing and pretend they did everything they could, and that's just not true.''. 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. 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. They hit his headon the porcelain and he got a concussion. He strokes his sisters hair withone hand and slides an arm around his brothersshoulders. But I justgot off the phone with the mother of one of thevictims, and she told me that were her bestadvocate. No!! 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. Thanks for contacting us. At least one group of parents has decided they will continue to speak out. Days later, the school wentahead with its annual pep rally, in a gesture ofsupport for Coach Mac and the sidelined Pirates. . Some have hired lawyers for their children. During the recessional, he submits to a seeminglyendless succession of embracesmuch like theones he received from his former teammates last nightat the wake. Broomsticks dipped in mineral ice, a kind of liquid heat, golf balls, pine cones and toothbrushes, were all pushed into the boy's rectums.