Shocked - school board with balls! Not shocked parents with no empathy - sports build character donchaknow

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/sayreville-football-season-cancelled-053424948.html?bcmt=comments-postbox



Sayreville H.S. cancels football season over allegations of 'pervasive' hazing
By Danielle Elliot 6 hours ago


A group of players in one of N.J.’s best high school football programs allegedly hazed teammates extensively – enough to warrant a criminal investigation and to cancel the remainder of Sayreville War Memorial High School's season, district superintendent Richard Labbe announced on Monday night.

"There was enough evidence to substantiate there were incidents of harassment, intimidation and bullying that took place on a pervasive level, on a wide-scale level and at a level in which the players knew, tolerated and in general accepted," Labbe said in a press conference held after a two-hour closed meeting with parents. He did not comment on whether the coaching staff was involved.

The Sayreville (N.J.) Police Department and Middlesex County (N.J.) Prosecutor's Office are handling the investigation. The allegations were made directly to the police, and school officials have not been told who filed the report. They were first informed of the investigation on Thursday morning, prompting the district to cancel the Oct. 2 football game just hours before kickoff.

While school officials carefully avoided the word "hazing" over the weekend, the father of a freshman told NJ.com that his son and others would “stampede” to the locker room to dress after practice, hoping to get out before the seniors could “push around” the freshmen.

Vincent Marra, whose 14-year-old son is on the freshman team, described a culture of fear and intimidation inside the Sayreville program… ’It’s weird, because I see kids outside the locker room, putting their clothes on, rather than be in the locker room and doing it,’ Marra said. ‘Because maybe they don’t want to be the one or two kids that are left in there when the seniors come in and they do whatever the hell they do.’

CBS 2 News has reported that the alleged abuse was “sexual in nature.”


rest at link:

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“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

But note in comments on this story in other sites how many parents in that community are up in arms about the school board's decision and are pissed off at the kids who reported the hazing to the cops. They're more concerned about the sports than about the victims. Typical jocksniffers.

Good, now maybe the brats will concentrate on academics instead of hanging out on street corners.

Sports are fun and should be played for recreation and exercise. There's nothing wrong with playing sports.

The big issue here is our society's obsession with sports. Folks, other than exercise and recreation, these are games that don't really give us anything in return.

Sports teach no practical skills whatsoever. Unless you play professional sports (which is an EXTREME unlikelihood), you won't get anything in the long-term out of playing them for your high school. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Nothing makes me roll my eyes more than ex-jocks talking about the "life lessons" they learned by playing sports. Excuse me? Sports teach NOTHING about economics, finance, philosophy, literature, mathematics, ethics, etc. etc. etc. Sports teach you how to throw balls, kick balls, hit balls,... you get the idea. I'm not sure where the "sports are a metaphor for life" nonsense started, but it's high time that when you hear that stupid phrase, you should challenge the person who utters it. Ask them for some real, verifiable evidence that those who play organized sports contribute more to society than those who don't.

The only thing more boring than hearing someone drone on and on about their kids, is when they discuss their high school sports accomplishments. "Back in '77 we had a great team and I was so great. The best decision I ever made was to focus on throwing the pigskin instead of wasting my time learning calculus... "

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selidororous
Good, now maybe the brats will concentrate on academics instead of hanging out on street corners.

That's actually one of the arguments used in favor of taxpayer-funded sports. Sports proponents claim that children will invariably loiter or get themselves into trouble if we don't provide them with the opportunity to play sports.

I say: BULLSHIT. No one has the right to hijack society and demand that their recreation be subsidized. If I went to a town council meeting and told the public that I'd be loitering or committing crimes unless the town provided me with a basketball league to play in, I'd be laughed out of the room. Furthermore, if I made good on my threat, I'd be arrested and rightfully so.

This notion that the taxpayer is responsible for providing sports for children is just bullshit. Let their parents pay for a private league if they want to play sports. It has no business being a part of the education system anyway.

Yep its all a game. However I can say that the guys in the 70s that were the big time jocks in my HS are still working dead end jobs and didn't really amount to a hell of allot after HS. Not all cases but most. Football is Americas obsession it seems. All allot of people worry about is the score! But they wouldn't know anything about world or current events. They all scramble to get their kids in school football teams. Its all about the coaches that want to make a name for themselves and possibly luck out and discover some kid who has pro potential. The other kids basically destroy their bodies by using them as battering rams in their growing years.

I went to a jock HS back in the late 1970s and into the early 1980s. It was terrible how they got treated so well, like celebrities sometimes, even if their teams did not do well. Meanwhile, I was on the school's chess team and Mathletes and led both to award-winning finishes in my senior year and received nowhere near the recognition we should have gotten. I know it shouldn't bother me, 30+ years after I graduated, but the fact that my HS yearbook had no mention of either of my two successful clubs, not even a single team picture, irks me. Every other club and sport had a team photo and a list of the graduating seniors in that club. I was able to obtain, free of charge, a copy of the previous year's HS yearbook which included team pictures of those two clubs which included me. But in my year's yearbook there were full-page photos of individual senior girls on the lousy lacrosse team which went 0-10! We also had trouble getting a lousy minibus to take us to our away chess matches.

I'd like to see all high school sports disbanded. They are a waste of time and money and promote all the wrong values. Perhaps with the increasing publicity of the dangers of HS sports, including some deaths, there will be a decline in interest in that.

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StudioFiftyFour
The only thing more boring than hearing someone drone on and on about their kids, is when they discuss their high school sports accomplishments. "Back in '77 we had a great team and I was so great. The best decision I ever made was to focus on throwing the pigskin instead of wasting my time learning calculus... "

Wow, did you go to Breed Hills too back then? We had a great team in 1977! But one thing that happened to me is, I asked about what calculus was and all I ever heard was how hard it was. Maybe if I had known some more math it might have helped my career but that didn't happen, especially when the teachers talk about football all the time in class and the cancel class to have a football assembly. But what do you expect from a Breederville, when all you are supposed to do is work in a steel mill, marry your high school sweetheart, go to church every Sunday and have bunch of kids.

Oh and there is a career for former football players: Selling insurance in Breedervilles.

Oh and remember the article I posted here in The Atlantic? I'll try to find it.

Good. Playing on one's high school football team is a privilege, and as with any other privilege, should be revoked if abused. Maybe the school can funnel the money that would be spent on football into something more useful.

I am so sick of the attitude that athletes are soooo important and can do no wrong. FFS, it's high school football. (Not that pro sports should matter either...) So the little bastards can throw a ball and tackle someone. There is probably a reason they are known for those skills instead of, say, their intelligence or charming personalities.

In our area, it happens in soccer too:

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/10/07/coach-players-suspended-after-autistic-boy-allegedly-duct-taped-to-soccer-goal/

I'm glad something is being done in this case. I'm also glad those kids went to the police instead of school officials or the school board because if they had, it would have just been swept under the rug and the lives of the kids and their families who reported it would become a nightmare and that might still happen when they are found out.

Like others, I'm so sick of the sports, football especially, obsession we have in this country. The schools put athletes on a pedestal while ignoring of even ridiculing the kids who have academic talent, which is the opposite of way a school should be. Perhaps we wouldn't be so behind the rest of the world if our schools would put learning first.

The school's job is to teach and provide a safe environment in which students can learn. It is not there to entertain the kids and keep them out of trouble. If the kind of things mentioned in this article go on in any school organization, sports team, activity, etc., that organization, team, activiy, should be shut down because the fact these things go on is proof the kids can't handle it. The fact there have been stories in the news about threats and even a stabbing over school dances and proms tells is just another example of this. Those things should be done away with too.

The Atlantic published an artice against high school sports that has been mentioned before. Check it out here.

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/the-case-against-high-school-sports/309447/?single_page=true

I have to chime in again on this. Sports has always been put on a pedestal. When I was in school , If you were on the soccer , Football or Basketball team , You could get away with anything short of murder. Also many of them had the intelligence of a spoon full of gravel, yet they passed their classes with flying colors. The coaches weren't that damn intelligent either. Defenders of school sports will quickly tell you that sports teaches leadership and builds character. Really? Like lets take Football, Do they mean character like domestic violence? Dog Fighting?Drug and alcohol abuse? Shooting weapons in nightclubs? Driving drunk.How about leadership? Like child molestation by coaches? ie: Sandusky! Or covering up college assaults on women by administrators? The list goes on and on.

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highwayman
I have to chime in again on this. Sports has always been put on a pedestal. When I was in school , If you were on the soccer , Football or Basketball team , You could get away with anything short of murder. Also many of them had the intelligence of a spoon full of gravel, yet they passed their classes with flying colors. The coaches weren't that damn intelligent either. Defenders of school sports will quickly tell you that sports teaches leadership and builds character. Really? Like lets take Football, Do they mean character like domestic violence? Dog Fighting?Drug and alcohol abuse? Shooting weapons in nightclubs? Driving drunk.How about leadership? Like child molestation by coaches? ie: Sandusky! Or covering up college assaults on women by administrators? The list goes on and on.

I've read that the NBA and the NFL have higher percentage of convicted felons in their ranks than does the general population. I think it has to do with what you say, they are put on a pedestal from the moment their sports talent is discovered and throughout school and even in college, they do whatever they want and nothing happens to them. Even when they area caught, people actually make excuses for and defend them because of they have athlete status while if an ordinary private citizen did the same things, there would be call to hang them.

I don't know why people are so obsessed with high school sports. It's not like it's a paid career. If the home team wins, what do you get? A shiny cup and a flag with a letter on it. Whoop-de-fuckin-doo. I think way too many DickWerkz Duhddies think their little manly man will grow up to be a manly ball player that shows their manliness by picking on the "lesser" boys in the locker room and showing their dominance via sexual abuse. Hmm, sounds like prison, which is probably where a lot of those football jocks will wind up.

At the end of the day, any school sport is just a GAME. It's okay to be competitive and to give it your all, but even if you win the football game, you're still a guy in tight, padded pants and a belly shirt, manhandling other similarly-dressed guys while playing catch with a dead pig.

I recall being asked by my gym teacher to consider joining the volleyball team because I was actually pretty good at serving and getting points, even against the girls who were actually ON the team. I refused. No fuckin' way was I going to have the preppy girls glaring at me and getting in my face because they decided that the fatass was the reason they lost the game. That, and I refused to wear shorts.

It's sad that sports are valued so much higher than the arts or even education itself. Who cares if Junior can't do math, use proper grammar or doesn't know anything about history? As long as he can kick a ball! And if a teacher does their job and gives these lazy jockholes the grades they deserve, the coaches and parents will bitch at the teacher for keeping the moron kid off the team with that pesky F.

I bet most of the sports breeders think their kid is good enough for the big leagues, but a microscopic percentage of people who play will go on to have sports careers. And of course the kids are spoiled by their "status" well into adulthood and when the NFL thing doesn't work out, they think their field goals will impress employers.

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JohnDrake

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highwayman
I have to chime in again on this. Sports has always been put on a pedestal. When I was in school , If you were on the soccer , Football or Basketball team , You could get away with anything short of murder. Also many of them had the intelligence of a spoon full of gravel, yet they passed their classes with flying colors. The coaches weren't that damn intelligent either. Defenders of school sports will quickly tell you that sports teaches leadership and builds character. Really? Like lets take Football, Do they mean character like domestic violence? Dog Fighting?Drug and alcohol abuse? Shooting weapons in nightclubs? Driving drunk.How about leadership? Like child molestation by coaches? ie: Sandusky! Or covering up college assaults on women by administrators? The list goes on and on.

I've read that the NBA and the NFL have higher percentage of convicted felons in their ranks than does the general population. I think it has to do with what you say, they are put on a pedestal from the moment their sports talent is discovered and throughout school and even in college, they do whatever they want and nothing happens to them. Even when they area caught, people actually make excuses for and defend them because of they have athlete status while if an ordinary private citizen did the same things, there would be call to hang them.

Many of these athletes are on steroids, and steroids make a person prone to violence and anti-social behavior.

+++++++++++++

Passive Aggressive
Master Of Anti-brat
Excuses!

JohnDrake, a heckuva article in the Atlantic. Thanks for the link.

I remembered one small thing on the positive side from HS when it came to the treatment of my cherished chess team. The afternoon announcements often included results from the previous day's chess match against another school. I was in my Physics class when they were made and the teacher (who was a good man and in my corner on these things) made sure everyone was quiet when the announcements were being made; he would then make sure to congratulate me for winning my game (I was the top player in the school that year) and helping our school to win the match. He would not allow any snickering or any other negative reactions to the announcements. Bless you, Mr. Sweetland.

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deegee
JohnDrake, a heckuva article in the Atlantic. Thanks for the link.

I remembered one small thing on the positive side from HS when it came to the treatment of my cherished chess team. The afternoon announcements often included results from the previous day's chess match against another school. I was in my Physics class when they were made and the teacher (who was a good man and in my corner on these things) made sure everyone was quiet when the announcements were being made; he would then make sure to congratulate me for winning my game (I was the top player in the school that year) and helping our school to win the match. He would not allow any snickering or any other negative reactions to the announcements. Bless you, Mr. Sweetland.

Deegee, congratulations on your unique achievement in HS, hope you remembered to put that on your resume - employers look at that stuff they won't care about what sports were played in school.

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StudioFiftyFour


The only thing more boring than hearing someone drone on and on about their kids, is when they discuss their high school sports accomplishments. "Back in '77 we had a great team and I was so great. The best decision I ever made was to focus on throwing the pigskin instead of wasting my time learning calculus... "

Yeah because learning calculus and being good at it might lead to an engineering job. These sports breeders are so stupid.

Damn... as a former collegiate athlete I am shocked and appalled. My swim teammates were like family the to me and without them I would have not survived college. But that is also because we had mandatory homework nights at least three days a week and most of my team were other engineering students so ghey were good homework buddies.

When I was in high school the only people who played sports were those who planned on going to college to pad thier application to school. In the off season we did theater, art clubs, robotics competitions, and science competitions. There was no jock culture because the nerds were the biggest jocks and were very athletic.

I see sports as one aspect of being a healthy individual and those who would abuse thier teammates deserve to get the shit beaten out of them repeatedly. I know what being on a heathy mature team with people who care about me is like and the thought of hurting someone who is a close friend is alien to me.

Sports don't have magic powers to keep kids out of trouble. ANYTHING that engages them will have that effect. Seems like another way for lazy parunts to pawn off their spawn on a coach for a few more hours after the teachers hand them off for the day.

Why not take your kyd to a museum, fishing or (gasp) play sports with them yourself? Some parents spend no more than 5 waking hours with their own crotchfruit every day...maybe less. School from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, sports from 3 to 6, then homework from 6 to 8 and so on. School and extracurriculars are little more than state-funded baybee sitting for these lazy twats who spend their days surfing Youporn and playing Angry Birds.

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Cambion
I don't know why people are so obsessed with high school sports. It's not like it's a paid career. If the home team wins, what do you get? A shiny cup and a flag with a letter on it. Whoop-de-fuckin-doo. I think way too many DickWerkz Duhddies think their little manly man will grow up to be a manly ball player that shows their manliness by picking on the "lesser" boys in the locker room and showing their dominance via sexual abuse. Hmm, sounds like prison, which is probably where a lot of those football jocks will wind up.

At the end of the day, any school sport is just a GAME. It's okay to be competitive and to give it your all, but even if you win the football game, you're still a guy in tight, padded pants and a belly shirt, manhandling other similarly-dressed guys while playing catch with a dead pig.

I recall being asked by my gym teacher to consider joining the volleyball team because I was actually pretty good at serving and getting points, even against the girls who were actually ON the team. I refused. No fuckin' way was I going to have the preppy girls glaring at me and getting in my face because they decided that the fatass was the reason they lost the game. That, and I refused to wear shorts.

It's sad that sports are valued so much higher than the arts or even education itself. Who cares if Junior can't do math, use proper grammar or doesn't know anything about history? As long as he can kick a ball! And if a teacher does their job and gives these lazy jockholes the grades they deserve, the coaches and parents will bitch at the teacher for keeping the moron kid off the team with that pesky F.

I bet most of the sports breeders think their kid is good enough for the big leagues, but a microscopic percentage of people who play will go on to have sports careers. And of course the kids are spoiled by their "status" well into adulthood and when the NFL thing doesn't work out, they think their field goals will impress employers.

I wonder if we're really too far gone in this area and there's no way back. In the 1970s, my 2nd oldest brother went to a Catholic boys' high school that was supposedly an elite school in the area. During an awards banquet he and my parents attended, they managed to get a local TV and radio sportscaster to give a speech, which was a really big deal to them. What he said about high school kids who want to make the pros was to have something else to fall back on if that doesn't happen because there aren't very many positions on professional teams and most high school and college players don't make it into professional sports. The audience booed him from the podium.

The story I've heard more than once is some hot shot high school player gets into a good college program and he doesn't play much the first year then gets cut from the program and ends up quitting school and getting a dead end job, or they make it to the pros, are in a few years, get traded between teams, then get dropped and no other team will take them.

Doesn't sound like a great career path to me.

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The story I've heard more than once is some hot shot high school player gets into a good college program and he doesn't play much the first year then gets cut from the program and ends up quitting school and getting a dead end job, or they make it to the pros, are in a few years, get traded between teams, then get dropped and no other team will take them.

Not to mention that they destroy their knees and have multiple concussions.

It's about time someone took a stand against bullying and the jockocracy. I just hope they don't cave on this issue.

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Cambion


At the end of the day, any school sport is just a GAME. It's okay to be competitive and to give it your all, but even if you win the football game, you're still a guy in tight, padded pants and a belly shirt, manhandling other similarly-dressed guys while playing catch with a dead pig.

I don't see anything inherently wrong with sports. In fact, as I've stated, I think they're quite fun and a good source of exercise.

The question that irks the shit out of breeders, but yet is one that I keep asking, is WHY oh why do taxpayers have to fund sports for children?

It's odd to me that when we're talking about let's say, medical care, we've determined as a nation that seeing a doctor and obtaining care is not something the taxpayers should spend money on. Yet, taxpayers are spending in the hundreds-of-thousands or millions of dollars each and every year on soccer, baseball, football, basketball... for children.

Why? What is the point of this, exactly?

We don't gain a damn thing from it.

I think a lot of this attitude is passed from parent to child. I know people who spend thousands of dollars on pro football season tickets, then more money for Jr. to have private lessons and play in the off season league. These kids are treated as gods from the time they are 10. If the parents yanked them out of sports at the first sign of misbehavior for a year, most of this garbage would stop. As for pros, yeah, I think they are all roided up a lot o c the time.

Update: handslaps all around

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/punishment-handed-down-in-sayreville-football-hazing-case/ar-AAdO1Wk?ocid=iehp

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“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

I agree with not spending taxpayer money on sports. All those fans, etc. should be glad to spend the money instead.

I do know more than a handful of exceptional people who were involved in various athletics throughout school. They would have been exceptional despite the athletics.

I'd rather see kids casually play sports (or being active) than sit in front of tv playing video games 24x7 and living a sedentary lifestyle. Having said that, one injury is all it takes for the most promising kid to lose a shot at a professional career so in very few instances are the off-balanced crazy two or three daily practices and all the other intense competition which goes with it realistic or healthy. 99.5% of the kids are being set up for failure and need a realistic career---not a great jump shot. Even those few capable of earning an athletic scholarship better have the brain power and grades as a backup in case of an injury. And infinitesimal subset of the athletic scholarship kids will play pro and for the few of those able to make millions many will have their career ended before the ripe old age of 30.