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C.B. West fires football coach after hazings

Brian Hensel was ousted as Central Bucks High School West football coach Tuesday after district officials probing a hazing incident said he and his assistants were not properly supervising players and would not sign a coaches code of conduct.

Head Football Coach Brian Hensel of Central Bucks West briefly addresses the media as he leaves a meeting Oct. 28, 2014, at Central Bucks West High School. (Charles Fox / Staff Photographer)
Head Football Coach Brian Hensel of Central Bucks West briefly addresses the media as he leaves a meeting Oct. 28, 2014, at Central Bucks West High School. (Charles Fox / Staff Photographer)Read more

Brian Hensel was ousted as Central Bucks High School West football coach Tuesday after district officials probing a hazing incident said he and his assistants were not properly supervising players and would not sign a coaches code of conduct.

In a letter to the community, Central Bucks district Superintendent David Weitzel announced Hensel's dismissal after six seasons and said "a lack of guidance and adequate supervision of the team" existed well before the Aug. 16 hazing at a team picnic.

Even during the investigation, Weitzel said, "a lack of coach supervision" led to a fight between two players in a locker room after an away game.

Hensel said Tuesday night that he was disappointed by the district's move.

Hensel, who kept his job as a chemistry teacher at the Doylestown school, has been under the gun since Oct. 15, when school officials began investigating the hazing. The superintendent immediately canceled the last two games of the season and contacted police, who launched their own investigation.

What started as a parent complaint over rookie haircuts opened the lid on initiation activities that officials said new players were required to perform. One was called "sugar cookie," where fully clothed players were wetted down, then covered in powder.

Another, which Weitzel has said players called "waterboarding," involved putting clothed players into a shower with towels over their heads.

The third was a game called "slap it, lick it, grab it, fondle it," popularized by the Comedy Central show Tosh.0, in which some players touched the genital areas of others, again while clothed.

Officials said seniors on the team orchestrated the activities, juniors watched, and about 20 sophomores participated, passing from activity to activity. Once they were finished, they were told they were part of the team.

But Weitzel's letter said the inquiry revealed that "concerns existed well before the August picnic."

Principal Jason Bucher and athletic director Sean Kelly met with Hensel in January, April, and early August to discuss issues from the 2013 season, including supervision of athletes, team-building activities such as haircuts for rookies, and the code of conduct, the superintendent said.

All coaches are required to sign it, but only the football coaches have refused to do so.

"This repeated refusal to sign the coaches code of conduct reflected their unwillingness to follow feedback and direction from the Central Bucks High School West administration," Weitzel said in the letter.

In an interview Tuesday night, Hensel said he was "disappointed in the decision that has been made by the administration."

He said players were watching game highlights at his house Tuesday. "I told them, 'It's not the games you'll remember. It's the fun times you had together. This is about building bonds and relationships. And now you'll have do that with a new coach.' "

He added: "My family matters the most to me. They're ripped up about this whole thing. Right now, I just want to spend time making sure they're in a good place."

Amid the uproar last month, the coach issued a statement that said: "The notion that my coaching staff fostered a culture whereby lack of supervision and hazing was an ongoing norm is not just unfair, but patently false. ..."

He also said he believed that if hazing had been suspected by his coaches, they would have stopped it immediately.

Weitzel said he interviewed almost every member of the varsity and junior varsity teams, some more than once, as part of the probe. He also said he met with Hensel and his coaches multiple times.

He said students would not be disciplined and the suspension on assistant coaches would be lifted, although their future involvement will be determined after a new coach is hired.

He vowed to ensure the safety, welfare, and dignity of students.

On Nov. 7, a team of secondary administrators and athletic directors met to discuss policies and practices for student athletes and coaches.

"We will research current best practices, seek input from expert resources, and make recommendations for change where needed," Weitzel said.

Bucks County District Attorney David Heckler, who last month invited parents who were concerned about the hazing to contact him, said he believes the school's investigation shows no crimes were committed.

"Tacky, not appropriate, not what one would wish to have happened, not appropriate team building, and dippy and unmanly to boot," he said - but not criminal.

INSIDE

Mike Sielski: Hazing at Central Bucks West was not an isolated incident.

Sports, D1.

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@kathyboccella