Sayreville

Last week, the Sayreville, NJ high school football team had its season cancelled by the Board of Education. This decision came amid numerous allegations of freshman hazing that were extremely sexual in nature. I decided to write this article because I realize that this type of decision garners many different emotions. Many will argue that this is the right thing to do. Others feel that innocent players and the community are being unfairly punished. The fact is that the Board of Education made the right decision, and hopefully it sets a precedent moving forward.

I played high school football at Hopkins, albeit a small prep school. We were not a top-level program like Sayreville, but I feel that I have the basic understanding of a football locker room. Many people may not understand why hazing exists at all, but it comes from a logical place. Every year there would be a few freshmen that were full of themselves, so a hierarchy needed to be established in a locker room among the older and younger kids. Freshman would be forced to clean up the field after games, carry the shoulder pads of older kids, get older kids a plate at lunch, etc. These practices were not meant to degrade, but to cause the younger kids to appreciate the opportunity to play. The belief was that if the kids respect the opportunity, they will work harder as players. Our coach advocated this kind of stuff, but he had avid about his intolerance for hazing. He would tell us that if we were caught hazing, we would immediately be kicked off the team. In an interview on nj.com, an ex-player on the team claims that coaches were rarely present in the locker rooms. This does look like a lack of insight by the coach, but it is hard to prove that he ignored warning signs. When the Steubenville, Ohio Rape case happened in 2012, by all accounts the assailants felt entitled due to their status as football players.

Whenever football players do horrible things, it is easy to paint all players with a broad brush. That would be unreasonable, but there is a clear culture problem. It is not a football problem, but a leadership one. Most locker rooms have credible leaders who hold everyone accountable. I experienced great leadership when I played high school football, but it is not an equal comparison to other teams. My school valued academics and image over everything else. We knew that our coach would get rid of us if we acted like idiots, because he would probably get fired if we tarnished the school’s reputation. Also, our success did not affect the overall community much due to the size and class of the program. Sayreville and Steubenville’s teams were state championship contenders for many years. When too much value is put on football, the coach’s integrity is compromised. If he is only focused on the game, he is less likely monitor what his players are doing off the field. This is why the Sayreville is justifiable. Current players who did nothing wrong will be greatly inconvenienced, but there is a much bigger problem at hand. Hopefully this case will make coaches pay closer attention to their players, and school administrators will keep an eye out as well. By the Board of Education making this decision, a strong statement was made that the safety of the kids far outweighs sports.