By Scott Brinton
The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District Board of Education had already carried on for some time. Cosenza said, "My heart goes out to all the victims," referring to three Mepham junior-varsity football players who were allegedly sexually abused by older teammates at a Pennsylvania football camp in August. According to officials, the JV players were attacked with a broomstick, pine cones and golf balls.
In September, the school board canceled Mepham's football season and suspended the three alleged assilants, who now face a battery of criminal charges.
"I was distraught," Cosenza said, "over the board's decision" to fire five Mepham football coaches following the attacks -- a decision that the board had announced earlier on Nov. 5.
Then Cosenza broke down, crying. Richard Wilgenkamp, a founder of the Mepham High School Alumni Association who began the recent Mepham Pride movement, hurried to the football player's side.
Consenza continued. He spoke of head football coach Kevin McElroy, who was in charge at the camp, along with the other four coaches/chaperones. "I was closer to coach McElroy than most of the other teammates. I know personally how much he cared," Cosenza said.
Throughout the speech, the audience remained quiet. Coach McElroy rushed over and embraced Cosenza tightly when he finished speaking.
It was a poignant moment during an emotional, three-hour board meeting that, at times, grew raucous, verging on out-of-control.
That night, the Board of Education issued a joint statement concerning its decision to release the coaches from their duties. "In an effort to rebuild the football program at Mepham," the statement read, "the board has unanimously agreed that it is in the best interest of our students and the success of the program that the present coaches not be reappointed."
In addition to McElroy, the board removed four other coaches, including head JV coach Art Canestro and assistant coaches Erwin Wolosky, Steve Vernet and Brian Scott.
The board also decided that the district would no longer authorize or sponsor sports camps. (For the board's full statement, see shaded box.)
The board's decision set off a debate of sorts among attendees. Many supported the coaches, while many believed they should be held accountable for the attacks.
Highly visible but silent during the meeting were members of the newly formed Mepham Parents 4 Change group, which is seeking to hold school district officials at least partially responsible for the attacks. Paul Pachter, one of the group's spokesmen, said Mepham Parents, which counts two victims' families among its members, did not wish to offer a statement that evening. "This meeting belongs to the superintendent," Dr. Thomas Caramore, Pachter said.
Debra Elkin, of Merrick, applauded the school board's decision to form a committee to look into Bellmore-Merrick's field-trip policies. "They have made an effort to start the process of change," she said. The committee will comprise district administrators, teachers, students, parents and residents.
Of the coaches, she said, "It's very clear, whatever transpired, these people did not do their jobs. There were children who were harmed. These coaches were there to protect the children."
Nicole Hollings, a Mepham biology teacher, represented a group of her colleagues and offered a statement to the board. It read, "As dedicated educators at Mepham, we are very concerned about the welfare of our students. We are devastated at these horrific events, and we hurt as a faculty and as a community.
"The pain of what has happened to the victims is felt by all of us on a daily basis," the statement continued. "The safety and well-being of our students is of utmost importance. Accordingly, we are concerned about our continuing ability to serve, educate and guide our students. We appear here tonight to show our dismay about the reported decision of the board in regard to our coaches.
"We fear," the statement concluded, "that if individuals who have followed district policy are not supported by the district, our continued efforts to provide our students with a well-rounded education will be impeded."
Alicia Steger, of Bellmore, applauded the board's decision to let the coaches go. "Unfortunately," she said, "it's eight weeks too late."
Richard Grebinger, of Bellmore, said that a gang had assaulted him when he was a teenager, and the experience scarred him emotionally for life. Grebinger believes that an outside investigation into the attacks and the district's handling of them is needed. "The community is torn," he said. "You need to have an outside agency or authority look into the facts. They need to take control of this situation."
Frank Setteducati, a 1970 Mepham graduate and president of the high school's Alumni Association, offered support for Mepham Principal John Didden, whom some have called on to resign. His detractors charge that he knew one of the alleged assailants had threatened a fellow player before camp, but did nothing to punish the student beyond speaking with him.
Setteducati said that to dismiss or censure Didden "would be a grave error." The principal has made Mepham and the surrounding community "a lifelong passion," he said.
Charles Kollar, the parent of a junior-varsity football player. who has spoken out about the attacks before, said that questions about school officials' accountability go "above the coaches," although he did not specify about whom he was speaking. He also noted that the alleged assailants had "no fear of getting caught."
Jim Rullo, a friend of one victim's family, said that parents should speak with their children and "demand they show [the victims] some compassion." More than once, speakers described how the victims, who have returned to school (two to Mepham and one to a private high school), are being taunted by other students.
Rullo also spoke about Mepham's recent walk-a-thon, which was intended to show solidarity with the victims and which raised more than $8,000 for the Long Island Crisis Center in Bellmore. "That was true Mepham pride that you can't get on a button," he said.
Referring to the victims, Deborah Oshan said, "They cannot heal unless there is a little bit of justice and a little bit of remorse ... You've got to stand behind them. You have to support them."
Perhaps the most unsettling comment came from Grace Cramsie. "I have spoken to a victim," she said. "There's a lot of things people don't know. When people find out, Mepham's heads will hang in shame."
