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High school coach resigns after three football players violate 14-year-old boy with broomstick on ‘No Gay Thursday’

High school coach resigns after three football players violate 14-year-old boy with broomstick on ‘No Gay Thursday’
Following the sexual assault of a freshman, a high school football coach has resigned.

On Thursday, Philadelphia’s Tredyffrin/Easttown School District released a letter announcing coach John Vogan’s resignation, according to Philadelphia TV station WPVI.

Earlier this month, three senior football players at a suburban Philadelphia high school stood trial for the crime.

District Attorney Tom Hogan said the three 17-year-old students at Conestoga High School held down a 14-year-old boy on Oct. 15 and assaulted him with a broom handle.

The three are being charged as juveniles with assault and other crimes.

Hogan says the 14-year-old was arrogant about being on the varsity team as a freshman and other players didn’t like it.

He says the assault occurred after underclassmen were told to strip to their underwear and clean the team locker room.

The prosecutor says the 14-year-old stripped to his boxers, but when he decided he wanted no further part of it, he was attacked.

According to Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan, the freshman Conestoga High School student screamed in pain as the three seniors assaulted him.

While hazing is considered a crime in Pennsylvania, it’s only considered a crime in colleges — not high schools.

John Vogan was promptly suspended from all duties once charges were announced.

An ongoing investigation will “determine whether or not code of conduct violations occurred, the awareness and level of supervision provided by the coaching staff, and what further measures can promote inclusive and respectful behavior,” wrote Superintendent Richard Gusick on the district’s website.

Depending on the outcome, the three students will face “firm but fair consequences.”

According to CBS Philadelphia, the 14-year-old told his father about the incident in February, and the father talked to the school district about the situation, who immediately alerted both the police and the DA’s office.

As of yet, no evidence indicates that the coach or staff had any idea about the assault beforehand.

Prior to his resignation, Vogan says he had absolutely no idea about the team’s hazing culture because “coaches typically stayed out of the locker room,” according to WTSP.

“This was generally upperclassmen doing this to the underclassmen,” he said. “Bigger kids doing it to smaller kids. Hazing,” he said.

The three alleged attackers are charged as juveniles with unlawful restraint, conspiracy, assault, and terroristic threats.

“It just happened to be a perfect storm of this ‘No Gay Thursday’ tradition and them not liking this freshman and taking it out on him in a pretty horrible way,” Hogan told the AP.

Apparently the football team dreamed up the “No Gay Thursdays” three or four years ago, and on that day, behavior typically considered “gay” is considered “not gay” on Thursdays, says Hogan.

According to the prosecutor, the tradition involves older players coming up behind their younger peers and placing their genitals atop their heads, as well as other lewd acts.

Older players would come up behind younger players and put their genitals atop the younger players’ heads, among other sexually explicit or suggestive acts, the prosecutor said.

He also revealed the players have a tradition called “blessing each other,” which entails a student spreading his hand wide and then smacking another player’s backside with enough strength to leave a mark.

Here’s the official school statement in full:

“Dear T/E Families,

We thank you for your continued patience with our administration as we conduct our investigation into the reported events involving members of the Conestoga football team. This matter has engendered a range of reactions from many community members, all of whom care deeply about the school, the District, and our students.

Since March 4, administrators have interviewed all students and coaches identified by county law enforcement. Additionally, all students and community members were invited to share any information pertinent to our investigation. Listed below is a summary of current findings from the school investigation:

-Hazing activities occurred with some members of the football team over the past several years, including back slapping, horseplay, and obscene behaviors targeted toward underclassmen.

-These activities sometimes occurred under the label of “No Gay Thursday.”

 

-No interviews or other evidence indicated that any adult had knowledge of these activities.

-The locker rooms had an insufficient adult presence throughout the football season, creating an environment where hazing activities could occur.

Conestoga does not accept any type of intolerance, hazing, bullying or intimidation within our school community. “No Gay Thursday” is ignorant, intolerant, and has no place in any school. Even though no gay students were specific targets of discrimination, the practice itself is an affront to us all. We are committed to eliminating these activities and providing a positive, respectful environment that is safe for all students. Disciplinary action has been administered to students as appropriate, and consequences were applied per the school’s disciplinary code of conduct. All students affected by these activities have been offered support from the school.

As you may know from statements made by the District Attorney, the alleged assault on October 15 is the subject of proceedings in the juvenile justice system. The District Attorney’s office and the police are limited in what they can share with us about their own very extensive investigation. Therefore, the District does not have access to the same testimony or other evidence as law enforcement. After following every lead provided by the police, we have not received enough evidence to make a definitive determination at this time. We have an obligation to base any conclusions about a matter of such seriousness and consequence on the evidence that is available to us. The investigation into the alleged assault remains open, and we continue to invite anyone who has information related to this event to call a school administrator at (610) 240-1000. As always, and in accordance with student privacy rights under the law, details related to specific student disciplinary matters must remain confidential.

The head football coach has resigned effective immediately from all coaching responsibilities. The entire varsity and junior varsity football staff has also been relieved of all coaching responsibilities in all sports through the fall season. In addition, we are recommending the creation of a full-time District Athletic Director position for middle school and high school sports programs. With a full-time District Athletic Director, we will have the benefit of a leader who can make District goals for our athletes a priority without the demand of other administrative responsibilities.

We are currently drawing upon the resources of the broader community of experts to implement a comprehensive plan to support students and staff in the following ways:

-Identifying consultants to design District-required programming for the entire football team to foster and maintain a positive and respectful sport culture. The best outcomes of this work will be implemented with all teams.

-Building upon our long-standing relationship with the Anti-Defamation League to enhance existing school efforts with tolerance and diversity, emphasizing the dignity of all people regardless of sexual or gender identity.

-Creating collaborative efforts between our counselors and experts to design and deliver classroom lessons for all CHS students that promote universal respect.

-Inviting officials from the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association to review all school practices related to a positive athletic culture. We will ask for recommendations to strengthen our policies, rules, documents, and communications to assure alignment with best practices.

We will engage these expert authorities to work with our entire school toward improvement, and we will continue to inform our students and parents as plans take specific shape. We are offering an opportunity for residents to share their thoughts about this matter with the Board and administration on Monday, March 28 at 6PM in the Conestoga High School auditorium.

We thank the community for its patience and support as we face adversity, address challenges, and grow stronger as a school community. Through collaboration and the participation of all students and parents, we will never settle for anything less than a school free from hazing, intimidation, and intolerance. Working together, we will become a better and stronger Conestoga community.”

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