Sayreville NJ football scandal? have you seen this? WTF?!!?

Disgusting.

I'm about half an hour away from Sayreville and the story has dominated the local news for the last week, starting with last Thursday's game being canceled for unspecified reasons, with rumors of it being hazing-related. Once it was made public that the prosecutors office was involved, I had to wonder if this was more than just one player shoving another in the locker room.

The latest development is that seven players have been charged in these assaults. Even with the latest developments, some headlines are still calling it hazing. I wish all of them would say what it was – sexual assault.

The mother of one of the players was actually quoted as saying at a board meeting the other night, “Nobody was hurt. Nobody died. I don’t think the punishment fits the crime.” I have no idea whether or not this mother realized what these boys were doing, but I think this sort of attitude contributes to the problem.

I feel that we have created a culture in which winning is glorified above all else, causing those in authority to often turn a blind eye to this sort of thing.

The news last night said 7 players have been arrested.

And this is why I hate the sports culture in this country. These kids are learning this somewhere.

You know, parents perpetuate the 'my kid and no one else matters' mentality. I would tell my son he is not going to be affiliated with a team where this occurred. I don't care if he knew or didn't know. The parents that care only about their own kid playing disgust me. How in the world can a team with that kind of thing going on even show face at other schools, or host other schools.

Someone has to stand up and say, 'I am dissolving the team where this occurred. We will not have a football team until every person who knew about this is no longer in the school."

Not one of those kids was going to go play pro football just based on statistics. One or two might get some kind of college scholarship. They can take this time to work on their academics and become better citizens.

The behavior itself is truly appalling, and the attitude of the harassing teens graphically demonstrates where the actions originated. When a winning sports team is the excuse for criminal behavior, the team needs to go. If I learned that my son had been in loved in this abuse, I would have been so mortified that I'd have a hard time doing anything but apologizing, profusely, over and over and over, for what my son had done-- not hiring a lawyer to try to get football reinstated!

And I couldn't care less that if these kids don't get to play, they might lose the chance at college scholarships. Seriously, with all the scandals lately about sexual misconduct and physical abuse at both college and pro football levels, this country NEEDS to do something to change the climate that seems to encourage it.

I live next door to Sayreville. Our high schools play each other in football and other sporting teams. My son plays travel baseball with several of freshman and sophomore boys from Sayreville High School. They were talking about it in the car when I drove them to a baseball game and knew a couple of the boys both victims and the charged. So sad that they even have to deal with this sort of thing. My generation must have been raised in a bubble. I am sure things went on in locker rooms but not to this extent. Sickening.

I whole heartedly believe the Superintendent, who has only been in the district a short time, was right for canceling the season. There is no possible way they could have continued this season. Our school was suppose to play them next weekend. As for the parent who made the completely ridiculous statement about how nobody was hurt or killed, I hope her son was one of the animals charged and arrested. The emotional scars these poor boys will have from this is 100X's worse than any physical scars. The captain of the team had a commitment with Penn State. Pretty sure that's going to be taken away, as it should be. Even if you didn't physically touch one of the boys, by standing there and doing nothing you are guilty. As far as staff, there is no way that I believe that not one of those didn't know what was going on in that locker room. One of the coaches just resigned after he was pulled over in a traffic stop and they found steroids and syringes in his car. What a mess.

Anyway, I hope these poor boys who were victimized,get all the love and support that is available to them so they may move on with their lives. As for the monsters that did this, I hope they are tried as adults and in NJ they can be, and receive the same treatment in their jail cell. They interviewed someone on the news the other day who said instead of canceling they should use this as a teaching moment. WTH! If you don't know that rape, which is what they did, is wrong by this age, I fear you are unteachable.

So for the wordy rambling rant, just sickens me.

Disgusting story.  I am pleased that the superintendent and prosecutors are treating it as it should be--sexual assault.
I feel sad for the victims and their families--who will be socially punished by the jocks in the city.

I hope our nation will someday change its value system as related to sports.

So disgusting. It is scary and sad to hear how frequently these kinds of cases keep coming up... which makes me think that there is way more happening out there that we don't hear about.

However, at the same time, I'm hopeful that the fact that these abuses ARE being reported (as they are happening, not 20-30 years later) is an indication of the start of change, even if it is very small.

It is unbelievable what these boys did and I am very happy they are taking it seriously.

However, to disband the team annoys me. Why do the kids who do NOT do that have to pay for those who do? It is possible they were complicit and in that situation, I agree to disband, but I hate innocent people paying the price of disgusting people.

I think parents and students protesting it's "not fair" to disband the team after several students were routinely and systematically SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, is ridiculous, and indicates what a deep-rooted problem this kind of behaviour is in our society.

I think that the coach (coaches) should be fired. I'm sure I'll get blasted for that opinion but to bad, that's how I feel. There are a minimum of 10 (most likely several more) adults/coaches/trainers etc associated with a high school football team so there is zero reason for them to be unsupervised in any way long enough for something like that to go on and not be stopped/reported. This behavior does not go on if it is not supported by the coaches and staff. I don't care if the kid is the best football player since time began. He can be off the team for hazing behavior. PERIOD. Any adult that turns a blind eye to that (and in my opinion you would have to for it to go on ) should not be employed to be responsible for under aged athletes.

Because the school does not have responsible adults to run the program since the adults running the program have to bear some responsibility for it to have happened. Either by turning a blind eye to it or by being sloppy and lax in their supervision of the athletes. To continue the team with the current staff could endanger more under aged athletes.  The superintendent did the right thing. Sends the right message. 

I couldn't agree more. I am so glad they are taking this seriously.