After five Rutgers University football players were charged with violent offenses Thursday, Democratic state lawmakers, including two Rutgers alumni, said they were struck by the disturbing nature of the crimes.
TRENTON -- After five Rutgers University football players were charged with violent offenses Thursday, Democratic state lawmakers, including two Rutgers alumni, said they were struck by the disturbing nature of the crimes.
State Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union) and state Sen. Richard Codey (D-Essex) said the assaults the players are accused of committing were shocking, but they hoped the accusations that the athletes attacked a group of students -- even breaking one victim's jaw -- don't tarnish Rutgers' athletics program or the university's reputation.
Prosecutors labeled the attack "unprovoked."
One player, defensive back Andre Boggs, is also accused of participating in several home invasion robberies while armed.
Lesniak said the pain caused by the five suspects "goes beyond the people they've victimized and spreads to teammates and to the university as a whole," but he added that Rutgers athletic director Julie Hermann rightly suspended them immediately.
State Assemblyman John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) also praised Hermann for immediately suspending the athletes.
MORE: Timeline of a case that ensnared 5 Rutgers football players
"I'm a Rutgers alum and a big fan of the school and football program, but there is a line between being a passionate alumni and what is right or wrong," he said. "If the allegations are true, they are disturbing."
A spokesman for Gov. Chris Christie did not respond to a request for comment. State Senate President Stephen Sweeney declined to comment.
But Codey expressed shock at the violent nature of the crimes, saying that next to rape, a home invasion is "what everybody fears."
"I don't know how they can remain as students," he said. "Unfortunately things like this happen all too often on college campuses across the country. Some would say it's a violent sport that attracts people who are around violence all the time... It's not only football players or athletes. It's the mentality of when you get to college, anything can go."
Codey said he did not have any immediate plans to intervene.
The public should not rush to judgement, Wisniewski added. "Let's learn all the facts," he said.
"We have to wait and see what materializes, but clearly we need to have an examination of the athletic program and what type of messaging within that program from the leadership to the students.
"Long term, we need to examine why we have these kinds of allegations being made and what can be done to prevent this from happening in the future. These are students' lives and their future and we need to make sure we are protecting students who are victims."
NJ Advance Media staff writer Claude Brodesser-Akner contributed to this report.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.