In a room packed with educators, Superintendent Richard Labbe told attendees that it was up to adults to report hazing.
MONROE TOWNSHIP -- In one of the worst days of his tenure at Sayreville War Memorial High School, Superintendent Richard Labbe was in a room of angry parents, demanding to know why the football season had been canceled.
By then, in early October, very little information was out. The seven football players had not yet been charged with crimes ranging from sexual assault to riot. And the adults in the room didn't yet realize the enormity of the situation, Labbe said.
"Why are you so angry?" one parent asked him, according to Labbe.
He didn't say it at the time, but he wanted to say: "Why aren't you so angry?"
In his most extensive remarks yet since the hazing scandal began almost a year ago, Labbe told a packed room of New Jersey educators and coaches Tuesday that before the criminal charges were announced, few knew how serious it was -- both in general, about the issues facing school districts as they deal with hazing, and in particular, about what happened in the football locker room.
"That was an indication to me that our parents didn't realize what hazing was," Labbe said at the Monroe Township meeting, organized by the Department of Education in reaction to what happened in Sayreville.
One assistant coach, Labbe said, told a school official that nothing happened in the locker room, and that the accusers were only trying to get out of playing football. When another coach learned that freshmen would flee from the locker room after practice, another coach surmised that they were rushing outside for the ice cream truck.
And the head coach, George Najjar, reportedly told students the day before the season's cancellation that "I don't trust you guys anymore" and that they would no longer be allowed to use the locker room unsupervised.
"Are you kidding me?" Labbe said. "They're children. They need to be supervised."
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Najjar lost his job as football coach and was transferred to a different district school. The district, meanwhile, has instituted new policies, including more training for both students and staffers about hazing. Most importantly, people need to stand up and say something, Labbe said. Labbe also encouraged those in attendance to have supervision in locker rooms. Don't look at the kids, he said, but have a presence there.
The hazing in Sayreville's locker room has helped bring renewed attention to the issue in New Jersey. For weeks, it was one of the biggest news stories in America. Labbe was in the middle of it (one of his key lessons, gleaned from the threatening voice mails reporters would leave just to provoke him to call back: Don't trust the media).
Labbe received a standing ovation from the crowd, consisting of school officials in business attire and coaches in standard-issue sideline polos.
Sayreville's football season has started again. They're off to a 2-0 start. The district is dealing with several lawsuits -- Labbe said the board attorney, Jonathan Busch of the Busch Law Group, was at the event to "make sure I don't say anything wrong."
To this day, there are some parents who think the season never should have been canceled (six of the defendants pleaded guilty or were adjudicated delinquent on charges ranging from simple assault to criminal restraint; one faces trial).
Labbe said the school district has provided just as much therapy to the seven assailants as they did to the four victims. Nobody got out of the situation unscathed, Labbe said, and they'll never be the same again.
The superintendent received an outpouring of support from other educators. But the real hero, he said, was the 14-year-old boy who told his parents what was happening to him. Those parents then went to police.
"They did what every responsible adult needs to," Labbe said.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
