First things
first about this entire Sayreville football horror story. There is no way in
the world that veteran head coach George Najjar knew anything about the ongoing
in the Sayreville locker room. Impossible.
I’ve known
George for almost 20 years now and he’s about as professional and steadfast as
they come in the coaching ranks. He’s been nothing but a strict disciplinarian
since he arrived at Sayreville and it’s no coincidence that the program has been
one of the most successful in the entire state for the last decade.
It’s almost
certain that Najjar is going to get thrown under the bus for this entire mess,
get blamed for not knowing what was going on. Some are even going as far as to
saying that Najjar was a lot like Joe Paterno and turned a blind eye to it all
_ which is definitely not the case. Others are saying that Najjar was involved
in some sort of hazing when he was the coach of Lincoln High School in New York
_ but there’s no way that could be tied to this disgusting mess.
Najjar did
not condone such behavior and I’m willing to stake my entire reputation as a
sportswriter that he knew nothing of the rituals at all. If he did, there’s no
doubt in my mind that he would have put a stop to it right away and punished
those involved, regardless of their stature on the team.
I’ve spoken
to two parents who requested anonymity, as well as two Sayreville officials and
a law enforcement representative, all of whom have to remain anonymous for
legal reasons, who have told me that the students charged with the sexual assaults
already in the case are not the only ones involved.
In fact,
there are as many as 15 upperclassmen who took part in the rituals that
involved as many as eight freshmen. And that the younger players weren’t only
brutalized with fingers, that pieces of fruit and vegetables, as well as other
tools may have been used in the assaults.
So this is a
story that is not going to go away anytime soon.
So were the
powers-that-be in the Sayreville school district correct in dismantling the
season? Absolutely. The parents that went to the Board of Education meeting
last week to voice their displeasure about the decision had to be totally naïve
to not agree with the decision or were just flat out stupid. How could anyone
think about playing high school football when boys have been brutalized in such
horrific manner?
There have
been some who have come out to say that it was unfair to penalize the entire
program for the ridiculous actions of just a few. Well, the Middlesex County
Prosecutor’s office already had wind of the widespread abuse and knew that
criminal charges were pending. Once the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office
got involved, you knew that it was going to be extremely serious.
So the Board
of Education and Superintendent Richard Labbe did the right thing by cancelling
the rest of the season _ and maybe beyond. It would not be a stretch if the
program takes a hit moving forward. Who’s to say that the penalties won’t
extend into the winter sports, because a lot of these football players compete
in other sports like basketball and wrestling in the winter months?
And anyone
who thinks that they didn’t do the right thing, just wait until the indictments
are handed down against the criminals who are of adult age. It seems as if as
many as three of those involved are 18 years old, so they will be tried as
adults.
Now, for the
coverage of this story. New Jersey Advance Media and NJ.com, the newly formed
media conglomerate that has replaced the old school organizations the Newark Star-Ledger
and Dorf Feature Services, has done a good job in gaining the information it
has attained.
However, they
actually had a reporter camped outside the home of Myles Hartsfield, the
premier Sayreville player who has already given a commitment to Penn State. The
reporter was there to see if Hartsfield would be led off in handcuffs, so he
was parked outside the home, camera in hand, snapping pictures of the family
vehicle and reporting every single tidbit of information that went on.
Now, this
goes beyond the realm of simple reporting. What has sports writing become? TMZ
East? Is that what sports journalists are going to be asked to do from now on,
thanks to the pressures of social media, of Twitter, of Facebook and the rest?
This wasn’t reporting. This was stalking.
The young man
has not been charged, as this blog has been written. But because of this
stalking incident, he’s already been implicated. Hell, he’s been tried and
convicted before officially charged. If anything, his reputation has been
severely tarnished by all of this. Who knows? He only has a verbal commitment
to Penn State. Do you think that school, with everything that happened with
Jerry Sandusky and that horror show, wants to welcome someone implicated with a
similar type of horrific incident?
What editor
in his right mind actually assigned this reporter, who is new to New Jersey
high school sports, to do this kind of stalking work? Is this why this new
reporter left Oregon, to come to New Jersey, and park himself outside of a
player’s house. “At 10:15 p.m., Mr. Hartsfield was spotted walking the family
dog.” C’mon now.
It’s bad
enough that the lead reporter in this case has had a reputation of misleading
interview subjects, saying that he’s writing about one thing, then writes
another one altogether.
He did it to
gain entrance into North Bergen High School two years ago when the Star-Ledger
was investigating the recruiting allegations against legendary coach Vince
Ascolese, saying that he was writing a positive story about Ascolese’s career,
when in fact, he was set to take down the legend’s career.
And he did it
recently when he wrote about St. Peter’s Prep standout Minkah Fitzpatrick’s
almost departure to Paramus Catholic in 2013, telling Prep head coach Rich
Hansen he was writing about recruiting in general and not Fitzpatrick and
instead stirred up a kettle of fish that really didn’t serve a purpose because
it was now a moot point.
But all of
that gets away from the real crux of this story: What in the world possessed
these punks to even think of doing something to their own teammates? Is that
fun? Is it a sense of power? A sense of superiority? It’s just sickening to
think that kids would have such thoughts in their minds. To stick something
like a finger or a broom handle and shove it up a kid’s rectum as he is being
held down in fear, then take that finger or handle and put it in his mouth? Who
in the world is that sick and tormented?
I was part of
locker room hi-jinks in my day. It usually meant slapping wet towels on someone’s
bare bottom or putting shaving cream or baby powder in one’s locker. I was
personally subjected to scorn and ridicule as a freshman, because I had not yet
matured physically and the older seniors laughed and pointed that out to
everyone, calling me a eunuch because I had yet to grow pubic hair. Because of
it, I made sure I showered when no one else was remotely around me.
That was embarrassing
in itself.
Well, can you
begin to imagine what is going on in the minds of the freshmen at Sayreville,
both those who were physically abused and the others who were in fear of going
in the locker room, waiting for the lights to get turned off? How about the ones
now who are being investigated? They’re being asked to point fingers on their
teammates, classmates. How about the ones who didn’t do anything themselves,
but knew about it? They’re also being asked to be basically stool pigeons. How
do they go back to that school just to study, never mind being an athlete?
I’m hoping
that the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s office and the Sayreville police conduct
a thorough investigation and prosecute these deranged criminals to the fullest
extent of the law. And I hope that the adults involved, those who are 18, get
prison sentences with no leniency.
It’s a shame
that George Najjar will be made the scapegoat for all of this. He’s more than
likely going to lose his job over it and it’s just not fair, because there’s no
way he knew about it and definitely would never condone such behavior in the
locker room.
One thing is
sure about this. The NJSIAA will enforce laws that will require at least one
coach to remain in the locker rooms until the last athlete has showered and
left, that the last one in the room will be a responsible adult. The coach will
be the one to turn out the lights.
In the past,
coaches left that responsibility with a team captain. Unfortunately, that
responsibility will no longer be left in any student’s hands in New Jersey.
That’s the one change that will come from all of this horror show in
Sayreville.
But be rest
assured: The story is far from over in Sayreville. In some cases, the story has
just begun to be properly told _ and it’s one that has to be told in its
entirety with no rush to judgment in the process.