}, First published on April 12, 2004 / 5:10 PM. Mepham victims file suitCharge Central District officials knew about When a. Statistically showing, at least 100,000 college football players get hurt yearly. 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. It was just too outrageous," says Jimmy. "There's nothing anyone else could have done differently," adds Cannestro. He told him to find a friend and never bealone. Which mayexplain why Coach Mac, in his only public statement,has concurred with Caramore. Nassau County Girl Scouts fundraise for victims of quake in Syria, Turkey at Masjid Hamza, Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions. Afew miles awaysouth of Sunrise Highway, down bythe blue water of East BayBMWs and Lexuses fillthe lot at the rival high school, John F. Kennedy.This was Amy Fishers high schoolthe richschool. So, no., But, you know, says McDermott, ifthey wanted to do it? 18 - 35 L. 10/15/2022. Watch this highlight video of the Mepham (North Bellmore, NY) football team in its game Recap: Mepham vs. MacArthur 2022 on Nov 4, 2022. This is hard tosayI know he was a good coach and a lot of kidsliked him. Husband of woman murdered with an ax convicted 40 years after her death 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. You know, what could be going on? Was there anything that indicated they were injured or traumatized? I said, 'What's the matter?' 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. Tell us how you did it coach. These words were forced into my face with a camera lens almost resting against my cheeks (page 395). 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. That hasnt satisfied parents whocomplain about the lost scholarships, the deflatedhomecoming celebration, and the fund-raisers for othersports, all of which depend on football and are nowruined, theyre saying, because of a couple ofmessed-up kids. On the second day, the incidents became brutal. 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. Youve got some Janning to do! We love our children. Football: State record broken in Holy Spirit's Thanksgiving win over MaxPreps is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. 2022 Fall Boys Football New York: Long Island Division II. Football is important to the high school experience and different familys history around the world. The father died on October 5a daybefore news broke that the lineman may be tried as anadult for some 26 felonies stemming from events thattook place over several late nights in August atMephams football-training camp in Wayne County,Pennsylvania. !Effin this, effinthatyoure not coming on my team,youre done, youre done, youredone! And I started screaming at him.. In the end, they will be left unprepared for life. at Garden City. There's coaches. It has been more than a month since school officials and prosecutors revealed that three older players were accused of sodomizing three freshmen with broomsticks, pine cones and golf balls in an attack in late August at a preseason football camp in Pennsylvania. The crime scene evidence that convicted Alex Murdaugh Reichsteins wife,Kristina, then begged Didden to make an example of thelineman. Theyre big football players who look andact like football players, says Jesse.Big and aggressive., The lineman was yelled at a lot,remembers another boy. Kristina and Vic Reichstein stand upand say their son, a freshman, was threatened by thelineman during practice in July and August. 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. I went to summerschool with them. The lineman, he says,was always starting fights. Mepham High School Football Scandal - Nymag - New York Magazine Please enter valid email address to continue. Bellmore Journal; Life Goes On but Is Altered After School Scandal 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 . Mepham was known mainlyfor its wrestling program until Coach Mac arrived in1986. Correspondent Peter Van Sant reports. Mysons season has been completely fucked up! 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. He gave his son a cellphone. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. And would you let it happen a second and third time? Some say that although they are shocked and angry over the incident, they are torn over whether the alleged attackers, still juveniles, deserve long prison sentences -- which they would face if they are tried as adults, as the prosecution wants. Some tryouts are not far by any means, in which the coaches pick from not the skill but by the way they know the student. 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 . Many have lost sight of the fact that baseball players are not the only athletes that face this life threatening addiction. This story has been shared 140,209 times. Here's why food advocates are worried they cant afford it. At least one group of parents has decided they will continue to speak out. 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. And he was very excited," recalls Patty. We've received your submission. Theyre sick of reporters, andtheyre worried about the lineman. Did I do anything to those kids?" Sofia LaSpina has etched her name in Long Island history. This has allowed more and more players to look to PEDs in order to gain an edge over their opponents. The incident angered the victim's mother, who. The priest declares that the father had nothingbut life ahead of him. Of course this thing escalated tosodomy, Berger 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. She says Didden said no twice.Thats when Vic stood up and called Didden aliar. This wasn't just something that happened when the lights went out.". According to her, Didden said he wouldinvestigate the incident. The group, which calls itself Mepham Parents 4 Change, consists of eight families, but says it is quickly gathering support. Most high school athletes across America share one common aspiration: play their sport at the next level in college. 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? ", Are they lying? His broad shoulders are slumpedand trembling as he walks the coffin down the aisle ofSaint Barnabas Church in Bellmore, Long Island. It devastated us. When the allegations surfaced in early September, the three accused teenagers were suspended from Mepham High School's football team. He quotes oneof the boys as saying, I will never trustanyone again. Anotherparent, Jim Rullo, delivers a prepared statement onbehalf of the victims families. A few blocks from school, Allie Pagano and Sarah Mirenda, both 14, stop at the local pizza shop, Luigi's, on their way home. They were carried outover several nights, with several victims, one of whomrequired surgery for his injuries. 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. "There were no screams. Decent football player, though.. After Dax Shepard asked her about her musical chairs relationship situation. ''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 stated that, at the camp,. If three victims getanything close to that much each, it would devastatethe school districts budget. "Did I tell the perpetrators to go and do that to those kids? Are you on crack? MEPHAM COACHES BOOTED IN HAZING SCANDAL News MEPHAM COACHES BOOTED IN HAZING SCANDAL By Kieran Crowely November 6, 2003 5:00am Hugged by his team captain and cheered by supporters, Mepham. When I was in ninth grade, says Lohman,my father died and my mother wanted to move toFlorida. He even threatened teachers. Theres no way youcant play me. The parents are organizing to demand that the school administration be held accountable for allowing the incident to occur, they said. The problem was with thekidsand with the parents who brought them upthat way., Sothe parents. You could just seehe had so much anger in him. Instead, they were treated as juveniles. MEPHAM COACHES BOOTED IN HAZING SCANDAL - New York Post I should just sit there and go, 'Hmm, he's hazing him.' Did either coach notice anything on these children's faces? 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. Not, 'Coach, things aren't good over here.' Theyre investigating the possibility that some students were planning to attack their schoolmates. At Mepham High School on Long Island, the entire football season was canceled after players admitted to sadistically hazing fellow teammates. We said, 'Are they hurting you?' ''They continue to try to bury this thing and pretend they did everything they could, and that's just not true.''. You\'ll receive the next newsletter in your inbox. Nassau County Girl Scouts fundraise for victims of quake in Syria, Turkey at Masjid Hamza, Powered by Creative Circle Media Solutions. But rather, in my opinion, how could the coaches have known?" 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. Heand a group of kids have me surrounded. He never judged us, saysDave Lohman, class of 94. And he's looking for something in the house to hurt himself.' He suggests that broomsticks,golf balls, and pinecones are consistent withtraditional forms of hazing. They have become activists, who say that the incident is just part of a pattern of problems in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District. 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. Once rated one of the best academic high schools in the nation, Mepham High is now mired in scandal. 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. In 1994, Wesley Bergerwas a Mepham freshman, a football player with a shelfof trophiesMVP for the peewee league,fastest-runner and best-tackler awards. We love our community. Tom Sandoval and Ariana Madix have broken up after he allegedly cheated on her with Raquel Leviss. He triedseriously to treat him as a regular kid, like nothingever happened. "The question should not be the coaches should have known. Bellmore Journal; Life Goes On but Is Altered After School Scandal, https://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/20/nyregion/bellmore-journal-life-goes-on-but-is-altered-after-school-scandal.html. A problem arises though once try outs are over and the team is announced. He was riding the bus along with varsity members, who held him upside down. We've received your submission. Moreover, they must spend money on equipment, clothing, and food (37). 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. ''Despite these warnings and policies, the players all expected hazing to take place in one form or another at the camp,'' the report said. It involved a fight amongteenage boys. Parents are paying up on school meals again. "We're not animals. 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. The lineman was furious. We got all new things to bring to pack. Including dishwasher-safe Japanese porcelain, two sets of French-made knives, and a sleek kettle. OK? That kid wassick! says a player named Rob. But the victims told their parents they were screaming at the top of their lungs. 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). "We have a clip of the JV football scrimmage," says McElroy, who believes it proves that there was nothing obviously wrong. Over the course of five days, their sons were brutally sodomized by their teammates. Hes dangerous, hes terrifying, hes an extra in, How to Watch the 2023 Oscars Celebrate All 23 Categories Live Again. Three days after camp ended, Carol and Vinny's son asked for help. Colleges and the NCAA can make money selling jerseys and other souvenirs that might include the likeness of players, yet the actual players never receive a cent. The way they walked? All the negative attention has galvanized them, they said. We care about kids. display: block; ''People just want to move on,'' said one teenager, sucking on his cigarette. 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.