Hes well known as abully. Doyou know who I am?, The freshman, trying to show a little backbone,replied: This is America. Research shows that 70% of kids drop out of sports for many reasons and not making the team is one. Terroristicthreats. Since returning from camp, he has barely slept. The issue of blame, however, continues to polarize parents and promises to loom larger as the criminal case moves ahead. All the negative attention has galvanized them, they said. And McElroy neverprevented him from playing on the varsity team. Anyone can read what you share. I should just sit there and go, 'Hmm, he's hazing him.' 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. If they have failing grades as well, the colleges are sending their students into the world without a real chance at becoming professional athletes, and without an actual education. On 11/4, the Mepham varsity football team won their home playoff game against Elmont Memorial (Elmont, NY) by a score of 14-7. Also it brings down students self esteem. At first, shock and disbelief prevailed. Andbecause we were the group with Amos, our team isetched in his memory.. 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. "He's victimized because I asked him to do a favor in this. But others angrily argue that not enough attention is being paid to the victims' ordeals. I notice when they're injured. Pertzborn and assistant coach Brad Rogeberg were made aware of the initial bullying on July 24, 2022, according to the police report. 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. And you know, I'm panicking.". Whos going to give him thatmoney now? But rather, in my opinion, how could the coaches have known?" 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. However, it seems too important to let go. He suggests that broomsticks,golf balls, and pinecones are consistent withtraditional forms of hazing. The coaches also showed 48 Hours a tape never before made public - one they say was recorded on the last day of camp. He was benched for two years as the lawsuit creptthrough the legal system. Rullo, now a community activist for change in his school district, says he received numerous letters and phone calls, including one that said that he and his family would die. Wesley?Wesley was a nasty rat bastard! As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Youth sports are becoming too intense for young children to keep up with. What's more, before camp, parents Victor and Kristina Reichstein say Carney threatened their 13-year-old son. As we mentioned earlier, the freshmans mother mentioned to coach McElroy the fact that the upperclassman was calling her son those insulting names. 10/08/2022. The transition to college is not a walk in the park, but add a rigorous summer conditioning program, two-a-days everyday, and the pressures of coaches you have yet to impress, and you have a recipe for disaster. So, no., But, you know, says McDermott, ifthey wanted to do it? Bellmore Journal; Life Goes On but Is Altered After School Scandal. Kristina and Vic Reichstein stand upand say their son, a freshman, was threatened by thelineman during practice in July and August. There's supervision, like any other school event.". College athletics are oftentimes not as glamorous as one would think. Mepham High School Football Tragedy 1056 Words | 5 Pages. Students moved from one cabin to another without the coaches' knowing, the report says. Sofia was sent to a boot camp, and Carney was sent to a juvenile detention center. At Mepham High School on Long Island, the entire football season was canceled after players admitted to sadistically hazing fellow teammates. At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Trump speaks at CPAC after winning straw poll, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. Bush, Duo of 81-year-old women plan to see the world in 80 days, Memphis Grizzlies star Ja Morant to "take some time away" from the team after allegedly brandishing a gun in a club, Alex Murdaugh trial: What to know about the double murder case, The crime scene evidence that convicted Alex Murdaugh, How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh, Murdaugh defense team plans to appeal conviction, Husband of woman murdered with an ax convicted 40 years after her death. No. Berger produced the requiredslip of paper. "He was laying in bed with a big butcher knife in his hand 'cause he was scared. Its all fun and games, saysMcDermott. But are they really fortunate? Relatives of the victims, 13 and 14 at the time of the attacks, expressed satisfaction at the outcome. For many years, people have been debating about whether sports teams for kids should have selective tryouts. Tell me why I should just know? He was riding the bus along with varsity members, who held him upside down. No. It was just too outrageous," says Jimmy. 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. That boy was not hurt at camp, but other kids were. 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. Theres a no-cut policy. These parents are now lobbying for a national hazing law, one with severe penalties. ''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. The coaches, however, say that, in attempt to deal with Carney's threats to another member of the team, they put Reichstein's son in the cabin closest to them, and asked an upperclassman to keep an eye on both boys. No! He strokes his sisters hair withone hand and slides an arm around his brothersshoulders. Every year parents and students of local schools can come and enjoy seeing kids of their community playing football, which could make a player's future bright, and a grandparent proud. It's, like, they're monsters," says Patty. Broomsticks dipped in mineral ice, a kind of liquid heat, golf balls, pine cones and toothbrushes, were all pushed into the boy's rectums. I ask. This guysstill the head coach., Its a fact of lifein Bellmore and Merrick that the farther south you go,the more money youll find. Athletes must commit time to practice and traveling. How a tragic boating crash is connected to the family of Alex Murdaugh He had his little list. "He was after my son morning, noon, and night. 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. He alwayslistened. One student lifts up another and dumps him, legs flailing, in a bush. 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.. Waiting outside in front of the hearseis a police escort, to ward off the media. And would you let it happen a second and third time? Jason Statham and Aubrey Plaza do not seem like a match made in action-comedy-chemistry heaven, but it somehow works. Heand a group of kids have me surrounded. But I justgot off the phone with the mother of one of thevictims, and she told me that were her bestadvocate. A day later, the threeboys were suspended, and a student demonstrationerupted behind the schoolto the delight of theTV crews camped out there. The coaches would have to be everywhere at thesame time, says Dave Hill. It's the biggest week of the year for high school wrestling fans. In the end, they will be left unprepared for life. But my son says nobody knew he would cross theline., Andys son plays lacrosse. 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. "We're not suggesting anything about injuries. Decent football player, though.. "There's nothing anyone else could have done differently," adds Cannestro. He had to tell people what happened to him," says Carol. The morals, the attitudes, of a Mepham student,are different, suggests another Kennedy player,Danny. When parents came to an emergency meeting on September16 with the principal and superintendent, they heardnot mea culpas but accusations. A player tried to flush his head in a urinal. The sexual assaults that occurred last summer among members of a Long Island high school football team sprang from old traditions of violent hazing that coaches and school officials could not curb, according to a report handed up yesterday by a Pennsylvania grand jury. We're checking it off. Now the Reichsteins have written the stateDepartment of Education, demanding an investigation. "Standing up and giving a 'rah, rah' when my son and the other boys are hurting in this way is so disrespectful. Parents demanded:Shouldnt they have been there to stop theseboys? One afternoon after practice, they air theirtheories, the chief one being that the lineman musthave been traumatized as a kid. 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. NEW! Of course not. A day later, the three alleged victims are stillhaving broomsticks thrown at them from cars in theparking lot. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Weve been 0 and 8 since 1999!says James. Correspondent Peter Van Sant reports. Parents are paying up on school meals again. 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. Here's why food advocates are worried they cant afford it. She shouts out all the ladies (mothers and wives) in the room. "They have to be lying.". On Bellmore Avenue, themain drag in town, a mile or so east of Mepham,Docs Pub serves as an unofficial class-reunionspace. Ke Huy Quan Continues His Winning Streak at the Independent Spirit Awards. The coaches' lawyer and officials for the Bellmore-Merrick School District did not comment on the report's findings or its criticisms. 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 [my son] called several times. Three varsity players are charged by Pennsylvania authorities with sodomizing three junior varsity players with broomsticks, pine cones and golf balls. They speak ofbroomsticks, pinecones, and golf balls. And my son said, 'They inserted a broomstick.'". 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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. "The kid who just made the tackle," says Cannestro, identifying one of the players on the tape. 49 - 18 W. He triedseriously to treat him as a regular kid, like nothingever happened. 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. He's back home on Long Island. 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. How could we have known?". Your sonwoo hoo!Hes having fun. We have more wealthy backgrounds, saysDanny. "We have a clip of the JV football scrimmage," says McElroy, who believes it proves that there was nothing obviously wrong. Throughout September, a question hung in the air:Would Wayne County district attorney Mark Zimmer trythe boys as adults, which would mean that each couldface up to twenty years in prison? We were afraid they would walk away with probation.. ''We don't do it in front of them,'' the teenager said, referring to the victims. Instead, they were treated as juveniles. And he was very excited," recalls Patty. The fact thatthese studies show the prevalence of this conduct inmany hazing situations supports a conclusion thattheres no reason to believe that this wouldhave occurred outside of such a setting, or abelief that such conduct would reoccur., Besides, he notes, the juvenile-justice systemaffords kids a second chance. 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. A football captain begged for the season to be reinstated, and his pleas were met with thunderous applause. Most of themare yelling. These towns lost seventeenpeople in the World Trade Center attacks.Theyre places whose kids go to college locallyand then settle here and raise families. "Am I an evil person? Its the kind of bar where people stillsmoke and no one cares. Berger sayshe got up and called his dad, who went straight to thecoaches. 28 - 13 W. 10/22/2022. Other players laughed, the report said. 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. 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). 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). 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. The third player in the Mepham HS hazing scandal was sentenced to probation after he made a deal with prosecutors and provided information. The Biden administrations policy of blocking unvaccinated people from the country continues to make little sense. Hugged by his team captain and cheered by supporters, Mepham HSs head football coach was fired last night and his four assistants got the boot, too. Full speed," says McElroy. He said his surgery was a success, but he needs time to heal before he can tour again. Theyre sick of reporters, andtheyre worried about the lineman.