Radio Free Montone: Paying For The Sins Of The 'Sayreville Seven'
By John Montone, 1010 WINS
The Sayreville Seven will have their day in court, so why have their teammates been benched?
The sins of the Seven have been visited upon all the rest. The sins of seniors have been visited upon juniors and sophomores and freshmen. The sins of seven Bombers football players on cheerleaders and band members. On the local pep club and the parents of the innocent. Under our legal system, while the Seven are still presumed innocent, punishment has already been doled out for those who aren't even accused. That's not how it works.
Details of the disgusting and degrading acts of sexual hazing that the Seven are accused of committing make all decent people shudder. But just as if a member of the Sayreville faculty was accused of an inappropriate relationship with a student the superintendent would not have closed the school, how can he shut down the football program if the vast majority of the players are not charged with a crime? And now Superintendent Richard Labbe says it's possible the football program will be shut down in future years. "So son, yes you, 4'6" quarterback on the third grade squad, hand in your pads." Hey, why not go full tilt Old Testament and punish two or three generations of children for the inequities of the Seven?
Listen: Radio Free Montone
What about due process? What about common sense? What about fairness to the kids who spent years practicing to make the teams and the band? All those hours. The sacrifices. Striving for excellence. And maybe a college scholarship. As individuals. Yes, individuals. In our, "nation of laws," we are not judged by the actions of others, but by our own actions.
If the Seven are guilty they will be punished. Everyone else should be blocking and tackling and cheering and playing the Sayreville fight song on Friday nights.
