''Our issue is our children are being blamed,'' said Paule Pachter, one of the parents in the group. All the negative attention has galvanized them, they said. I believe that exclusive tryouts should be held for children because they are extremely good for their mental health in three ways: tryouts teach kids humility, in that they arent always going to be selected, they help kids learn to work harder, and they boost kids confidence. Diasparra cut a deal and received probation. (516) 569-4000, To donate or for more information, click here, Chamber, mayors office are no match for the Thunderbolts. Most students, the girls say, have not gotten caught up in the anger and recrimination that have divided their parents. Including dishwasher-safe Japanese porcelain, two sets of French-made knives, and a sleek kettle. "He was screaming. The grand jury report did not state that sexual assault had been part of hazing at Mepham High School or at past football camps (there were two before 2003). He gave his son a cellphone. Privacy Policy and 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. He triedseriously to treat him as a regular kid, like nothingever happened. I ask. It's a couple of days.' Hasnt hebeen through enough? "They had bags of ice and they were bashing it all over his body until the bags broke. Mary explodes. This is hard tosayI know he was a good coach and a lot of kidsliked him. Then came the civil suit, settled for apaltry sum, to cover medical bills.Berger got threatening letters: Keep singing,Berger, and youll see.. They demanded that the boy be barred from camp but were rebuffed, they said. At last nights meeting, one player called the coaches caring role models, and team captain Dan Cosenza hugged McElroy. That kid wassick! says a player named Rob. He was 40 years old. He knows the mainkid, she says. So, no., But, you know, says McDermott, ifthey wanted to do it? display: none; Football: State record broken in Holy Spirit's Thanksgiving win over 49 - 18 W. He was always in troubleat school, but not in football. The boy was a member of the 2007 Charlton County High School junior varsity golf team. "We went out. Sports in Mepham isvery big.. Not like Wesley Berger, Vic says.Hes overexposed.. The 15-year-old wide receiver became the first female football player in Long Island history to score a touchdown Saturday night, when. The grand jury report did not state that sexual assault had been part of hazing at Mepham High School or at past football camps (there were two before 2003). The guy grabbed me in front of the wholeteam, Berger says. When people talked aboutMepham, they talked about Famous Amos. 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 On 11/4, the Mepham varsity football team won their home playoff game against Elmont Memorial (Elmont, NY) by a score of 14-7. Yeah, that shit gotfreakin blown up. 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. 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. The coaches, who slept in a cabin away from their players, said they knew nothing of the violence until a parent complained to school officials. 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. October 11, 2014 / 7:28 PM / AP. The kid that did it, I feel so bad forhim, the boy says. Im theprincipal, he said, and Illdecide who can go on the trip. The lineman wasallowed to go to camp. We've received your submission. "Not once. But one kid whogot it in the shitter, hes just like afag., Yeah, he says. They could be home as early as next month. The star lineman towersover most of the other pallbearers. As well as rebuking the attackers, the report criticizes the school system and the Pennsylvania judge who handled the cases. 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 . Oct. 20, 2003. All rights reserved. A problem arises though once try outs are over and the team is announced. 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. "He made that statement and from that day on, he's been, his family, harassed by letters and threats," says Carol. And I know the family of one of theattackers. After bullying allegations, Middleton coach allowed to resign with When parents came to an emergency meeting on September16 with the principal and superintendent, they heardnot mea culpas but accusations. Parents are paying up on school meals again. The problem was with thekidsand with the parents who brought them upthat way., Sothe parents. 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. I need to see a doctor,'" says Carol. 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 question should not be the coaches should have known. Mepham High School Football Scandal - nymag.com But I justgot off the phone with the mother of one of thevictims, and she told me that were her bestadvocate. "There were no screams. OK. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. JUDGE SLAMS MEPHAM HAZERS By Erin Calabrese January 15, 2004 5:00am A Pennsylvania judge imposed strong penalties yesterday on two teens who sexually abused younger players at a high school. We've received your submission. Source: Football players to be tried as juveniles - CNN A pack of teenagers congregates across the street from Mepham High School, smoking their cigarettes and clowning. 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. He said his surgery was a success, but he needs time to heal before he can tour again. I think the kids covered it up to saveCoach Mac and save their season., Tending bar at Docs is Rob McDermott, class of95. Most of the shit they did was pranks,like shaving cream, one Mepham boy tells me ona sunny Wednesday, a day before the funeral of thelinemans father. Thursday, November 6, 2003 Posted: 1537 GMT (11:37 PM HKT) Story Tools. } ''Despite these warnings and policies, the players all expected hazing to take place in one form or another at the camp,'' the report said. His dadsaved his friends life that day. In the bunks, 17-year-old players were assigned to watch over 13-year-old boys. Parents demanded:Shouldnt they have been there to stop theseboys? Those kids are running at full speed. Offscreen, he was one himself. Days later, the school wentahead with its annual pep rally, in a gesture ofsupport for Coach Mac and the sidelined Pirates. Athletes must commit time to practice and traveling. 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. What LAppartement 4F Co-owner Ashley Coiffard Put on Her Wedding Registry. On 10/29, the Mepham varsity football team won their away conference game against Sewanhaka (Floral Park, NY) by a score of 27-12. And one of the leaders selected joined with two other varsity players to sodomize these children. 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. Mepham High School (North Bellmore, NY) Varsity Football - MaxPreps.com 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. 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. Because if these attacks are acceptedas hazing, then the school is responsible. School Board Votes to Dismiss 5 Mepham Football Coaches "He came to me and said, 'I'm bleeding. #inline-recirc-item--id-a617c056-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-a617c056-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Reichsteins wife,Kristina, then begged Didden to make an example of thelineman. Sofia LaSpina first Long Island female football player to score TD He cites essays abouthazing from the Internet, including an academic paperby Elizabeth Allan of the University of Maine thatincludes in a long list of hazing activitiessexual simulation and sexual assault., The conduct took place in a juvenilesetting, Alter argues. We care about kids. The coaches let him go, the report says, ''because he was a good football player. Go ahead. Did a kid come and tell us? I said, 'What's the matter?' Jonathan Anderson gets one of the first qualities of great fashion that it has to feel a bit strange. With FamousAmos on the squad, the team made the county playoffsall four years. Michelle Yeoh Promises No Swearing, Only Tears During Best Lead Performance Win. A minivan with two others whizzes by, music blaring. Dont eventhink about sleeping at camp, he said. After Dax Shepard asked her about her musical chairs relationship situation. I think hes adirtbag. "He's victimized because I asked him to do a favor in this. Thats when Berger says Coach Mac lunged athimhis hand reaching the boys throat. "These boys were like 6 feet 2 inches and 6 feet 4 inches, and roughly 250 lbs. Just because someone shows up and participates, doesnt not mean they deserve the same treatment as everyone else. 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. High schools on Long Island have led a crackdown on rough-housing since the 2003 Mepham High School football training camp hazing scandal rocked the nation. Carol said it appeared Conway had sentenced Sofia to the boot camp because he disliked the teens attitude. Youth sports are becoming too intense for young children to keep up with. Regardless, I was all about making them the best well-rounded people before they head into the cruel world. Anyone can read what you share. We love our community. Nothing.". He quotes oneof the boys as saying, I will never trustanyone again. Hazing scandal rocks high school | News, Sports, Jobs - Lawrence (516) 569-4000, To donate or for more information, click here, Chamber, mayors office are no match for the Thunderbolts. He was just frightened," says his father, Vinny. They were carried outover several nights, with several victims, one of whomrequired surgery for his injuries. Please enter valid email address to continue. He did more for me than any coach ever. 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.. Anotherparent, Jim Rullo, delivers a prepared statement onbehalf of the victims families. At Mepham High School on Long Island, the entire football season was canceled after players admitted to sadistically hazing fellow teammates. 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. Most are no longer talking about the issue publicly, tired of the maelstrom of feelings that is stirred each time. During his career, the prolific actor inhabited an array of troubled characters. But even those who are, still have an astonishingly low chance at making the professional leagues. Nor did he suspendthe three alleged perpetrators, and as a result, theywere allowed to walk the hallways of Mepham High fornearly two weeks. No! MEPHAM PARENTS TO PLOT ACTION - New York Post It involved a fight amongteenage boys. It stated that, at the camp,. Who Is Jerry Sandusky Responsible For The Crimes At Penn State 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. In an earlier proceeding, the three attackers, charged as juveniles, admitted to the assaults. 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. But these parents say the risk to their children was greater. 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. In 1994, Wesley Bergerwas a Mepham freshman, a football player with a shelfof trophiesMVP for the peewee league,fastest-runner and best-tackler awards. Mepham High School Football Coach Anthony Cracco's Sex Scandal Has Bellmore . This guysstill the head coach., Its a fact of lifein Bellmore and Merrick that the farther south you go,the more money youll find. 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. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. We got all new things to bring to pack. Rick Scott Is Unfortunately Right About Novak Djokovic. Kids have come to practice Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday, and Friday to get better, while their academics are suffering. Some parents and athletes believe equal playing time for all sports and activities is deserved all through their middle school and high school careers. "The bottom line is, if we did anything wrong, we wouldn't be sitting here talking to you," says Cannestro. But critics say their mistakes started early. 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. We dont beat guysup., Some of his old teammates have gathered to buy drinksfrom him. In that case, new players at. She says Didden said no twice.Thats when Vic stood up and called Didden aliar. But they dont want to appearself-serving, he says. How could we have known?". A failure can be a downward spiral or a setback turning into a benefit. Anger, fear in wake of Mepham attacks Parents afraid after football 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 . Reichstein triedto stare the lineman down. . Mary is athird-generation Bellmoron. Her boy,Kyle, played varsity. Our community is being blamed. Doyou know who I am?, The freshman, trying to show a little backbone,replied: This is America. A pack of teenagers congregates across the street from Mepham High School, smoking their . mepham high school football scandal. These individuals hope to be part of something special, whether its achieving individual goals or team goals. 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! Theres a no-cut policy. Four members of the faculty were either fired or forced out because of the scandal. 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. Was there anything that indicated they were injured or traumatized? One afternoon after practice, they air theirtheories, the chief one being that the lineman musthave been traumatized as a kid. Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza do not seem like a match made in action-comedy-chemistry heaven, but it somehow works. Most of themare yelling. (Smith/AP) Last week's criminal charges involving six New Mexico high school football players alleged to have sexually . You know, what could be going on? I notice when they're injured. They also understand they will need to sacrifice time, energy, and their social life in order to achieve these goals. Students moved from one cabin to another without the coaches' knowing, the report says. 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. Were happy as can be, said Carol, an aunt of one of the victims. 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. 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. Ke Huy Quan Continues His Winning Streak at the Independent Spirit Awards. "Yeah," says Cannestro. This incident could have been foreseeable by the coaches, and possibly the administration, if the coach reported anything to the principal and athletic director. 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. Or as David Woycik, who represents another victim,puts it: Theres bound to be a movie madeabout this., This is not what Isigned on for when I tried to do the rightthing, says Vic Reichstein. A perfect example would be a 13-year-old Georgia student riding a school bus received a wedgie during a school hazing incident so painful that his mother took him to the emergency room. How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh He told Pennsylvaniapolice that he couldnt release informationabout a student without a subpoena. (Almost as prevalent is the idea, notconfirmed by police, that the linemans fathercommitted suicide. My father was agreat man, he begins, and tells a story of howhis dad once saw a crashed, burning car, pulled overand ran to help, and discovered that the guy trappedin the passengers seat was a friend. McElroy hadnothing to do with this kid, Joe Rosenthalsays. Not a wink. Since returning from camp, he has barely slept. The sentences are indeterminate, but will be reviewed every four months. These towns lost seventeenpeople in the World Trade Center attacks.Theyre places whose kids go to college locallyand then settle here and raise families. The conversation easily shifts to a defenseof Coach Mac. Who? "I assumed he was homesick, so I said, 'Stick it out. Many have lost sight of the fact that baseball players are not the only athletes that face this life threatening addiction. 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. 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. 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. They were later suspended from classes on September 18. Kids and adults are then forced to take a side on the issue for the good of the school and the safety of the children. At least one group of parents has decided they will continue to speak out. He really was.". They speak ofbroomsticks, pinecones, and golf balls. Clutching their schoolbooks in their arms, Allie and Sarah said they actually felt tremendous pride in their school these days. The two boys join their sister tobring the Communion offerings forward as the mournerssing Be Not Afraid.. Mepham was known mainlyfor its wrestling program until Coach Mac arrived in1986.
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