Sayreville tries turning page on hazing scandal, but echoes still rumble

Also, new details emerge shedding more light on at least one locker room attack Watch video

SAYREVILLE -- The first signs of a new beginning flashed at Sayreville War Memorial High School on a hot morning last month. Players in shoulder pads and silver helmets marched to the practice field, band members rolled out new routines and the electronic sign on Washington Road blinked, "Go Bombers!"

Over on Main Street, the iconic blue-and-white scoreboard was scrubbed of the previous season, replaced by the new schedule and the name of the new head coach, Chris Beagan. Even the Touchdown Club's website was redone to count down the days, hours, minutes and seconds until the football team's opener Sept. 11 against J.P. Stevens.

Gone are the visible reminders from Sayreville's nightmarish 2014 season, when seven football players were accused of hazing four teammates in the locker room. The charges are still not totally resolved in juvenile court, but led to the cancellation of the season, the ouster of long-time head coach George Najjar and a national scandal.

"The vast majority of this community is excited to move on and move forward," Sayreville district superintendent Richard Labbe said in an interview last month.

As hard as many in Sayreville are pushing for a fresh start, the echoes still rumble. 

Even today, nearly a year later, some families remain divided about the severity of what happened in the locker room and the response of the school board, calling for an investigation into how officials handled the situation. That sentiment came to a head in the last two, sometimes-tense, school board meetings. 

In the days following last week's meeting, NJ Advance Media obtained documents, including a witness interview with investigators, that provide new details into at least one alleged attack. According to a witness whose identity is being protected by NJ Advance Media out of fear of reprisals in the community:

•  Approximately 15 to 20 players were involved in one of the attacks. The players, according to the witness, stood over the victim, held him down or prevented him from getting up.
•  An assistant football coach came into the locker room just before one of the players was hazed, but he was pushed out by players.
•  One alleged victim was targeted because of a dating incident that did not end well.

And more is unfolding behind the scenes. Current Sayreville football players have started a petition seeking to bring one of the accused players back to the school, according to two parents involved with the program. The petition also was sent to last year's freshmen players, some of whom may have been targeted in the hazing or witnessed it, one of the parents said.

"It's frustrating," said one parent who declined to be identified out of fear of reprisals in the community. "We know two, three kids already that we spoke to their parents and they're going for therapy. Now they're sending around a petition? I can't believe it."

Meanwhile, the petition calling for an open investigation into the board of education's handling of the scandal has reached 219 signatures. A lawyer for one of the accused and the school board president recently made powerful declarations about what truly happened in the locker room last fall. And a hushed minority still feels alienated by the community's eagerness to bury the alleged crimes in the past.

Then last week, Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey announced four defendants admitted to hazing and endangering the welfare of their young teammates, two of whom said they held one boy down while another digitally penetrated his anus through his pants. Two others were found delinquent, or guilty, on charges of simple assault and disorderly conduct in Family Court. All were cleared of the most serious charges, which included sexual assault. Those boys will not have to register as Megan's Law offenders.

One case remains outstanding.

In theory, Friday night may do the most to bring a sense of normalcy back to town. That's when the six-time state champion Bombers will take the field for the first time in 349 days. Many people here say football is the strongest thread running through this community of 44,000, a uniting force in good times and bad.

Can football's return bring the remaining splinters of the community together a year after scandal tore it apart?  Or will the sport only drive more people in different directions?

"There are victims out there that might actually have worse days as we approach the opening of the season," said John Bovery, a former teacher who frequently attends board meetings. "It's easy for me as a town member to close this chapter of the book. It's easy for most of the town to take that approach. I'm sure it's not easy for the victims and to a lesser degree probably the defendants as well."

Sayreville High School's football team looks forward to their new season together, following last years hazing scandal. (Saed Hindash | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
 

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As the first official practice of training camp began last month, Beagan, the new coach, bounced across the field, shouting and clapping. He was an obvious choice to lead the program into a new era, Labbe said.

Beagan was born and raised in Sayreville, grew up playing youth football for the Morgan Panthers and dreamed of "going to the high school and wearing my school colors with pride," he said. He played football and wrestled for the Bombers and even coached briefly under Najjar.

Today, Beagan is intensely protective of the program and community. He calls last year's scandal "painful."

"The town ultimately gets portrayed in a way that's negative," Beagan said. "There's a whole lot of positive in our district that was ignored."

Beagan won a state championship and went 39-33 in seven seasons as head coach at Monroe High before coming to Sayreville. The new coach and the new season have helped some shift the conversation in town.

"We're not chatting about what happened in that locker room anymore," Bovery said. "Now we're talking more about, 'Will our new coach have a similar running attack or will he open up the offense?'"

But chatter, inevitably, finds its way back to the hazing scandal. At last week's school board meeting, Carolyn Porcaro, the mother of two Sayreville players, said the district is unfairly keeping one of their teammates out of school. Porcaro's criticism of the district came a day after Carey announced six of the seven defendants were sentenced to probation for their roles last fall.

Others claim the district's entire reaction to the hazing allegations was overblown.

"You can't get the (seniors) back and give them football; they already graduated," said one person with ties to the athletic program who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals. "Guys lost their jobs and reputations and it's all for nothing."

Some opinions also differ on how effective the school board and Labbe were in handling the scandal.

Labbe, meanwhile, said the district responded appropriately.

"Within any community there are going to be some people that disagree with decisions that are made," Labbe said. "I think we're all just excited to move into the next chapter."

Many in Sayreville say football's return will help shift the narrative in town once and for all.

"That community really needs to get back to football because it's so important there," said Sal Mistretta, who coached Sayreville from 1988 to 1994. "Unless you've been there or coached there, you really don't realize how entrenched the whole football program is. It was like coaching in a Pennsylvania coal-mining town where high school football was really the big deal."

The Sayreville High football team and coaches returned to their field, Monday, August 17, 2015, for first official practice of 2015 season. (Saed Hindash | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
 

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Current Sayreville players just want to play football again.

Senior linebacker Corey Clark said he's noticed more people than normal offering encouragement for the upcoming season. But, he added, "We're more excited than anybody because we got it taken away from us."

Other players say they've moved past the scandal and that it only brought them closer together.

Some players also hint to their own beliefs about what happened last fall.

"We'll let people think what they think," said senior lineman Anthony Porcaro, Carolyn Porcaro's son. "Us as players know what happened. We know that nothing would happen. We're just trying to focus on moving forward."

If there's still healing that needs to take place, Beagan and his players said they hope to be a part of the process -- on the field, under the lights.

"People have been holding it in," Anthony Porcaro said. "People are just excited for us to get back on the field and play our games and do what we do best."

NJ Advance Media staff writer Brian Amaral contributed to this report.

Matthew Stanmyre may be reached at mstanmyre@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattStanmyre. Find NJ.com on Facebook.