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 Head coach George Najjar and four coaching assistants at
Sayreville War Memorial High School were officially suspended by the
Sayreville Board of Education during a raucous meeting in which
dozens of parents, students and alumni voiced their strong support
for the coaching staff.
“We love Coach Najjar!” a woman shouted during the meeting, her
comment drawing applause from the audience.
Brandon Hoyte, who graduated from Sayreville and went on to become
captain the football team at the University of Notre Dame, was among
those who praised Najjar.
“The only reason that I have had any success in life is because of
Coach Najjar,” Hoyte told the board. “Please take this man's
character into consideration.”
The 1,700-student school has a highly regarded football team with
Najjar, who was elected to the New Jersey Football Coaches Hall of
Fame in June, leading the team to three state titles.
But after the hazing came to light earlier this month, seven
football players were suspended and charged with sexually abusing
four freshmen members of the team.
School Board President Kevin Ciak told the meeting that the
suspension of the coaches - with pay - was not intended as
punishment but as a means of finding out the truth. He declined to
reveal any further information, including how long the suspensions
would last.
The suspensions “are consistent with the ongoing and not yet
completed investigation," Ciak said.
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Details of the suspensions remained unclear after the meeting. The
school board met in closed session and a document handed out during
the public session referred to the salaries of the suspended coaches
being cut in half.
School district superintendent Richard Labbe canceled the remainder
of this year's high school football season and said he was
considering suspending the program in future years as well.
Three Sayreville players are charged with aggravated sexual assault,
and four are charged with aggravated assault, aggravated criminal
sexual contact and other crimes. They are aged 15 to 17.
Prosecutors say the victims were held against their will while other
team members touched them.
NJ Advance Media, citing interviews with victims, has reported the
freshman players were held down while other players inserted fingers
into their rectums and then their mouths.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst, Barbara Goldberg and Eric Walsh)
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