Wayne Hills Students Banned From Football As Team Heads To State Championships

Nine Wayne Hills High School football players charged with aggravated assault are barred from participating in extracurricular activities, a week before the team heads to the state sectional championships, according to a decision by the Wayne Board of Education Friday. 

The school board voted unanimously after an emergency hearing to uphold a previous ruling by Interim Superintendent Michael Roth to suspend the players, who were charged in an Oct. 29 incident with attacking two Wayne Valley High School teenagers after a party on Urban Club Road. 

Board members Robyn Kingston and Jane Hutchinson listened to the hearing via speakerphone and cast their vote with the remaining board members.

"The events that allegedly occurred at a private party on Oct. 29 which involved several students has left a black mark on our community," Board of Education Trustee Robert Ceberio said during a 1 p.m. press conference following a three-hour hearing, most of which was closed to the public.

"This is not characteristic of the majority of our 8,700 students who truly reflect the good of our district and community. The Wayne Board of Education believes that violence is unacceptable related to our school, connected to extracurricular activities or in our community," Ceberio said, reading from a . He said the day to day operations of the district had been impacted by the incident.

More than three dozen people, including lawyers for some of the charged football players, waited outside the Board of Education offices — which were locked by school officials — during the 10 a.m. meeting. The football players were not in attendance. Among the other issues discussed, the board outlined a plan, which included a new universal code of conduct, to prevent similar situations from occurring in the future, Ceberio said. 

The special meeting was announced Wednesday after the Passaic County prosecutor warned the board that holding a planned hearing that would introduce new evidence in the case could jeopardize an ongoing aggravated assault investigation.

Responding to criticism of the board’s decision to announce the ruling on the day after Thanksgiving, when schools are closed, Roth said the meeting was held Friday because the prosecutor’s concerns effectively canceled the hearing scheduled for Nov. 29.

"The concern was that the criminal investigation would be hampered and compromised," Ceberio added.

The Nov. 29 hearing was to include testimony from attorneys representing several Wayne Hills players. 

Attorney Darren Del Sardo, a former board trustee who is representing one of the nine Hills players, has said that his client was not present at the alleged altercation.

"They have a duty to protect the innocent and they failed miserably," Del Sardo said.

In a issued Friday in response to the board's decision, Del Sardo and George Abdy, an attorney for another boy charged in the incident, accused the board of "caving to a mob mentality that has been spread across the internet." 

"The mischaracterization of the incident is driving the actions of the school board which has failed to consider the facts of the case and instead is reacting to anonymous internet posts," the attorneys said. 

Ceberio acknowledged during the hearing that police, because of the ongoing investigation, could not divulge any information to the school district, making the board's decision even more difficult. 

“We were not provided with police reports, and to this day, do not know on what basis the charges were made,” Ceberio said.

Announcing a plan to be implemented in coming weeks, the board outlined several steps it will take as a result of the incident.

• A unified student athlete code of conduct will be introduced. Currently, each school has its own, and they each differ from school to school.

• Programs dealing with conflict resolution, non-violent communication skills, anger management, and bystander responsibility will be developed.

• Officials are examining creating the position of school disciplinarians at both high schools.

• The board will ask the new superintendent, Ray Gonzalez, to assemble a task force to look at this matter and report back to the board with “recommendations to improve process, procedure, and policy.”

• The board will also ask state Attorney General Paula Dowd to monitor this case as it proceeds through the judicial process and to review the incident under the state’s Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying statute.

Friday's ruling came after district officials seemed to waffle several times over whether to allow the players to take the field.

On Nov. 11, Roth allowed the players to participate in the team’s first-round state playoff game against Vernon after citing case law that stated players charged with a crime could not be banned from sports before charges are resolved. .

Less than a week later, on Nov. 16, Roth announced the players would be banned from participating in extracurricular activities. 

But the board put Roth's ban on hold on Nov. 17, after hundreds crowded into the municipal building to support the beleaguered football players, and allowed them to play in the game against Paramus. 

Eight of the nine players are juveniles. The ninth is 18-year-old team captain and star wide receiver Andrew Monaghan. Monaghan and teammate Joe Lane, 18, were also disciplined last week for their alleged involvement in . 

Audio transcriptions of the Nov. 17 closed-door hearing with district officials, the board, players, and their lawyers, will be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office and the Wayne Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Unit.

Trustees will review district policies to “address the conflict of interest concerns when administrators, and/or supervisors act as a coach or assistant coach."

Hills varsity head football coach Christian Olsen is also the school’s athletic director.

Olsen and Roth could not immediately be reached for comment.

The team wil face off against Old Tappan at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands Dec. 3. Wayne Hills has won seven state championships since 2002.