Monday, October 13, 2014

Sayreville High School: Should They Play The Next Season?

       I'm sure a lot of you have been hearing about the Sayreville High School football sexual assault situation. As a form of "hazing" the young players, members of the team sexually assaulted their fellow teammates. A 14 year old boy on the team claims the upperclassmen have been participating in this ritual for quite some time. Sayreville High School's superintendent is considering not allowing the team to play next season. Some parents of players are distraught about this since many of their children's futures rely on being able to play football after high school. In my opinion, the whole team, and town, needs a break from football.
       With everything going on in the NFL with domestic violence and abuse, we are now seeing that it's not just an NFL issue. This incident speaks volumes about the whole sport of football. The lines are too blurry for these young players: what is okay to do on the field versus off the field? These players are being taught to be aggressive when they're playing. It's drilled into their heads that they must overpower their opponent and "win" all the time. This is a terrible a message to be sending.
       Football, in this town in New Jersey, means everything. One coach said that football, in their town, is almost a "religion." I found this word choice to be interesting, that someone would go as far as to say this game is similar to spirituality. I know people obsess over football and for many people, it is an enormous part of their lives. It's America's sport. It would be un-American not to like football. But the players of this violent sport need to set a good example. They need to be demonstrating that violence off the field is not acceptable. And I think they're doing the exact opposite.
       Players know what they're getting themselves into when they sign up for a sport like football; it's violent. But if they do choose to partake in it, I think they have the right to feel safe once they come off the field. The victims of this crime are traumatized. What's worse is that one of the victims of assault (14 years old) said he thought it was just "normal...locker room antics." The fact that this boy was confused about whether being overpowered by a teammate was just standard shows that this sport is really messing with people's sense of what is ok and not ok.
       I think this town needs to set a good example by not allowing the team to play the next season. It will force them to take a step back and assess the situation so that it does not happen again.

2 comments:

  1. I agree with you, the team's season should be canceled. If the team continued its season and just suspended players, it would be sending the message that this is not a serious issue, and that this issue is not a part of the football team--that it's only a few players. However, it is the entire team's issue. All of the players knew of the sexual assaults, and it is just being brought to light. And either the coach was oblivious and did not know what was going on, or he chose to ignore any signs. Either way, the coach is at fault for not paying attention to the players on his team.

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  2. I agree with you and Thomasina that the season should for sure be cancelled. Sexual assault is a very serious thing that can scar someone emotionally and potentially ruin their lives. The damage done in sexual assault is similar to a case of assault that leaves someone with life-changing injuries, such as being blinded or anything like that. If someone on the team blinded another player, would they continue the season and just suspend the attacker? I would certainly hope not, some respect needs to be shown to the victim and their family, and it is the exact same for any case of sexual assault.

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