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Nine football coaches in a New Jersey town stung by allegations of hazing have been suspended and their stipends cut in half, as the fallout from the revelations continues to divide a community, its championship team and reverence of the sport.
The suspensions of the Sayreville head coach, George Najjar, and eight of his assistants were confirmed at a Tuesday school board meeting in Sayreville War Memorial high school’s cafeteria. Among the 200 or so parents, coaches, alumni and others who turned up for the meeting, the decision was an unpopular one.
“Even down to the little ones, down in fourth and fifth [grades], they’re devastated by the fact they may never play for Coach Najjar,” said Sean McIntosh, who coaches a local youth team.
The town of about 42,000, less than an hour south of New York City, has been in turmoil since late September, when rumours began to circulate that the Sayreville Bombers were the subject of a criminal hazing investigation. Since then, seven varsity players have been arrested on charges ranging from sexual assault to conspiracy. Two weeks ago, the Sayreville school district cancelled this year’s football programme after three games.
Many in Sayreville say they “support the victims,” but criticise the decisions to cut the football season and suspend the coaching staff pending an investigation. Nearly all spoke up to support Najjar, a man who would have coached his 20th season with the team this year and who led the team to three state championships in the past four years.
“The board has painted a picture that the coaching staff was negligent,” said the Bombers coach Bobby Berardi, who, like several coaches, is unpaid and not a district employee. “You failed on your end,” he said, addressing the board, saying coaches were never given anti-bullying manuals or training.
“You were celebrating the fact that you buried this football programme,” Beradi said. “You said, ‘We got them, they’re all finished, they’re done,’” he added, claiming that he overheard a conversation between administrators.
“I was disgusted to hear that. Not one person here is going to heal the wounds of his community. The person that’s going to do that isn’t here because he’s not allowed to be here. He’s at home, and that’s coach Najjar.”
Reports about what took place in the locker room have hinged largely on anonymous and unnamed sources. NJ.com reported that varsity players may have sexually assaulted younger team-mates, anally penetrating young players with a finger, in a bizarre initiation rite that also included beatings. The New York Times spoke with three of four hazing victims. Accounts varied, and two said the behaviour should not be regarded as a big deal. Still, other witnesses were troubled by the behaviour.
Police, prosecutors, school board members and coaches have largely refused to comment on the allegations. Without official information to rebut or confirm claims, rumours churn along online, including allegations that there could be a racial component to the arrests and that more arrests could be imminent. The superintendent of the Sayreville school district, Richard Labbe, a former assistant football coach, has not commented on the detail of the allegations since he cancelled the football season citing “pervasive” hazing.
Even Tuesday evening, when about half of 446 cafeteria seats were filled, the majority of school board members endured the hour-long public grilling without saying a word. At least 17 media outlets set up broadcast cameras on the cafeteria’s left side, anticipating the coaches’ suspension, and reporters scrummed to any teenage football player who would talk.
Most attendees were apparently there only to speak on Najjar’s behalf, but the board stuck to a rigid agenda. The board discussed debt servicing and lengthy biographies of retiring school district employees for almost an hour. Audience members anxious to speak about Najjar eye-rolled and fidgeted as the superintendent announced a principal’s biography. “This last one is real special to me,” Labbe said.
Najjar’s punishment was announced in a photocopied addendum to the agenda distributed immediately before the meeting. All coaching stipends, most over $8,000 and Najjar’s over $11,000, were cut in half.
“I know there is some interest in one of these items on the agenda,” said Kevin Ciak, board of education president, about halfway through the two-hour meeting. “We do not comment on personnel matters, so while we understand that many of you might have questions regarding our personnel we can’t offer comments at this time,” said Ciak.
That began a procession of speakers lambasting the board’s decision to suspend coaches, primarily Najjar, citing a word he often used in post-game speeches to his team – “character”.
“We do not condone any of that behaviour that is alleged,” said Brandon Hoyte, former Sayreville linebacker and 2005 captain of the University of Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish, a “star” in town.
Hoyte claims to have started a petition seeking 1,000 signatures in support of Najjar. It had 993 as of 11pm on Tuesday evening. “The reason for the petition is very, very simple,” said Hoyte. “Is that we are showing our support to George because of his character that we have all known over a number of years.”
Dissenters seemed almost apologetic, telling the audience they played “devil’s advocate”, and reminding attendees that next year’s season isn’t cancelled.
“If I was teaching math and I stepped out to speak to my supervisor for three to four minutes, and this activity that took place in the locker room took place in the back of my classroom … man, I think I’d be out of the building in seconds,” said Sayreville resident, John Bovery. “One error in judgment can ruin 20, 30 years in good judgment.”
