5 Long Island Football Players Suspended Amid Bullying Allegations

Five Long Island high school varsity football players have been suspended amid an investigation into bullying pranks in the hallway.

Wyandanch Memorial High School district officials say the students were suspended from classes for two days last week but not from playing football.

A school spokesman said surveillance cameras captured what he described as inappropriate roughhousing involving a group of players after class.

Teammate Taeshaun Jenkins said, "I thought it was a joke, fooling around, everybody having a good time." 

But in a statement, the Wyandanch school board said "there is a zero-tolerance policy in the Wyandanch school district for any kind of unnecessary physical contact."

The players were suspended from school but allowed to play in last Saturday's game against Shoreham Wading River. 

"Everybody looked at the tapes, the police looked at the tapes, and they didn't see anything that warranted any more punishment than that," said the spokesman, Nathan Jackson.

But county legislator DuWayne Gregory, who represents the Wyandanch community, said bullying in any form cannot be tolerated and that the players should have been suspended from the team. 

"I think it sends the wrong message, that sports is more important than academics," he said. 

Laure Edwards, a grandmother of a player on the team, said she's confident in the school officials' investigation.

"Whatever they decide to do, I am sure they'll get to the bottom of it and take care of that situation," said Edwards. 

Jackson said the school was "very serious about keeping the place safe" and that officials thought the suspension was appropriate. 

The Wyandanch players' suspensions come after seven high school football players in Sayreville, New Jersey, were arrested on sexual assault charges amid allegations of locker-room hazing.

Officials there decided to cancel that school's football season after the allegations surfaced.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us