This is a short commentary on the recently reported football hazing scandal in Sayreville, New Jersey. I am not describing the details here, but you can read about it in any number of articles, including the links provided here or here.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
– Edmund Burke
The only good news, if you can call it that, out of the Sayreville football hazing scandal is that perhaps now, at a young age, some of these young men will learn something about Edmund Burke’s meaning. Because learning that lesson sometime later in life often has consequences much more devastating than the cancellation of a football season. And while I would not presume any of the perpetrators of these incidents are actually “evil,” the acts themselves are cruel, debased and violent – evil-like, if not evil.
Clearly some have already learned this, because they came forward and reported what was going on. Sadly, (and I cannot overstate how sadly), some parents and athletes in Sayreville, instead of seizing upon this very teachable moment — instead of placing values of responsibility, character, ethics, human compassion and obeying the law, at the forefront of their concern — some are angry at the whistleblowers because they ruined all their fun (aka, cancelled the football season).
Not wholly dissimilar from the Penn State abuse scandal, this is a team and a community culture gone awry. When did we start worshipping football, and sports in general, more than anything and everything else? Unlike professional sports, high school and college sports should not exist as ends unto themselves. They exist in the context of educational institutions whose missions, last time I checked, are focused on shaping productive, responsible, creative, and capable young people — like this mission statement for the Sayreville School District:
Sayreville School District educates today’s learners to be tomorrow’s leaders by providing all students with a high quality, challenging education that instills character and enables our students to compete successfully in the 21st century.
The nature and demands of extracurricular sports can, undeniably, contribute to the goals of character-building and preparation for future success. But that should be their sole purpose. They shouldn’t exist for the entertainment of the parents or alumni; nor for the glory of the coach; nor should they exist to fuel swelled egos or testosterone highs; and they should never trump other educational priorities or fundamental personal and community values. I know many will disagree, but I don’t even think they should exist for the purpose of generating college scholarships (at least not on a scale greater than can be earned through other talents, like music or science or drama or any number of other valid, educational pursuits). High school sports should not exist for any of these reasons.
Yet they do. And then we wonder why we get professional athletic cultures with such failed moral compasses (I’m talking about you, NFL), or business cultures marred by fraud and ethical lapses, or any of a number of other societal ills that flow from the decisions and actions of those with an underdeveloped sense of integrity or unformed moral foundation. It all starts with the lessons learned in high schools like Sayreville.
Life lessons are sometimes very hard to endure. I’m sure the sense of disappointment, even unfairness, is overwhelming for those players who did not directly participate in the hazing activity. But it’s not okay to “do nothing,” in this instance, and the decision of the school board and superintendent is 100% correct. They are applying a sorely-needed shock to the community. I hope it hurts enough to force real change, so the football program can get back to providing kids what they are really owed from their school and from the adults in their lives – a sound education and a strong grounding in what it means to a responsible and compassionate human being. That would be progress.
Stuff I Gotta Say 