The unidentified parent, who made the announcement on Channel 12 news, said the two failed to protect Mepham football players who were allegedly sodomized by three older squad members during a football camp in Pennsylvania in August.
The parent contended that both Didden and McElroy knew that one of the alleged assailants had threatened a student or students before the trip, but allowed the varsity player to attend anyway, after meeting with him and securing a promise not to bother other squad members.
We fully agree with that parent that Didden's and McElroy's mutual decision represents a serious lapse in judgment. If the player threatened other team members before camp -- which district officials admit -- that student should never have attended.
If the principal and head coach resign of their own volition, that is their decision. Before either is forced to resign, however, he is entitled to due process, just as the alleged assailants are.
The Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District Board of Education should conduct its own investigation and issue its own findings on whether Didden and McElroy carried out their duties as they should have. To do this in a way that fosters public trust in the district, the board must bring in an outside investigator, perhaps from the New York State Education Department.
The district could conduct its own internal probe, but to the tax-paying residents of the Bellmore-Merrick district, such an investigation would likely be seen as suspect. Moreover, district politics could hamper the effort.
Finally, we must wonder how capable Didden and McElroy are of governing in the wake of the alleged attacks. We certainly can't imagine how McElroy could enjoy the same level of confidence and trust among parents -- and perhaps even among players -- in the future. And Didden, in charge of an entire school, has apparently lost the respect of at least some parents and students.
In fairness, both men were seen as great leaders before the attacks. Didden was often praised for his role in significantly raising Mepham's academic profile. (Newsweek listed Mepham as one of the nation's top 130 high schools last year.) McElroy was touted for consistently building championship-caliber football teams.
The two educators' accomplishments aren't being talked about much these days, and rightly so. But they have both contributed enough to the Bellmore-Merrick district that they shouldn't become easy scapegoats for what went wrong. At the same time, if the Bellmore-Merrick administration does nothing to look into their potential culpability, we predict a widening public outcry against the district. And that would make a terrible situation that much worse.
