Conestoga hazing: There's simply no excuse for it

The madness continues.

In October 2014, seven football players from Sayreville War Memorial High (N.J.) were accused of brutally hazing four teammates in the locker room. Soon after, it was revealed that Central Bucks West High players had subjected rookies to "humiliating" hazing in a preseason football initiation.

And this past week it came to light that a weekly ritual dubbed "No-Gay Thursday" was going on at Conestoga High for at least three years.

It was a day when players considered certain sexual behavior permissible. And, among other things, it's alleged that two Conestoga seniors held a freshman down while a third penetrated him rectally with a broom handle.

"This is a simple case about ignorance, violence, and a shocking lack of supervision," Chester County District Attorney Thomas P. Hogan said at a news conference Friday.

Hogan said the victim was a 5-foot-7, 160-pound freshman. The physical damage may not be permanent for the victim, who has since left the Berwyn school, but the psychological effects will surely linger.

Police charged the three seniors, all 17 at the time, as juveniles with assault, unlawful restraint, making terroristic threats, and related offenses.

Hogan said the decision was made, after consulting with the victim and his family, not to charge the players as adults.

Let's hope that doesn't mean the three get off with a slap on the wrist and/or an easily accomplished number of community-service hours.

For such an assault, the three should be sent to a juvenile detention facility for a certain period and forced to undergo psychological counseling. That's the only way to send a clear message to student-athletes in every sport.

The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District said in a letter Friday night that Conestoga football coach John Vogan, also the school's baseball coach, had been suspended.

After the hazing of rookies at a preseason picnic, Brian Hensel was ousted as Central Bucks West's football coach but allowed to keep his job teaching chemistry at the Doylestown school.

Hensel said he hopes school district officials don't rush to condemn Vogan for the players' actions.

"It's imperative that coaches do all they can to keep their players safe, but make sure all the facts are out there before any final decision is made," Hensel said.

"How about holding the kids responsible?" he added. "They're at an age where they should know the difference between right and wrong. And maybe their parents should take part of the blame."

Matt Dence, Germantown Academy's football boss, was a tight end at Father Judge in the early 1990s and played at King's College in Wilkes-Barre. He spent time as an assistant at several colleges, including Georgetown and Yale.

"Back then, maybe a freshman would get thrown into the shower with his uniform on or he would have to carry equipment out to the field," Dence said. "But the sex-related hazing that's come out recently . . . in my wildest dreams, I wouldn't have expected anything like this."

Like Rich Mannello, his coach at King's, Dence said he has a "less-than-zero tolerance" policy for bullying when it comes to his team. "If I find out you're picking on another kid at this school, you're out," he said.

The Tredyffrin/Easttown School District will conduct its own "top-priority" investigation into what happened at Conestoga and look at the "level of supervision provided by the coaching staff."

The same examination should also take place, as a hugely important preventative measure, at other high schools. Coaches and athletic directors must have an ever-vigilant approach.

And no form of hazing - forced haircuts, towel- whipping, duct-taping a player to a goalpost, etc. - should be permitted.

Those are not positive "team-bonding" rituals. They are simply acts of stupidity and physically risky bullying.

robrien@phillynews.com

@ozoneinq

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