Wayne Hills H.S. Football Players Charged With Assault Play In Playoff Game Friday

Reaction Mixed -- In Stands, Good Call; Away From Football, Sets Bad Example

November 11, 2011 11:48 PM

9 Wayne Hills H.S. football players suspended from the team, for their alleged involvement in a fight, are arguing for their right to play in the NJ state final on Saturday (Credit: CBS 2)

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WAYNE, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – Wayne Hills High School began its playoff run Friday night will all of its players, despite the fact that nine were charged this week with aggravated assault.

In the stands, there was near unanimity over the decision to allow the accused star receiver, 18-year-old Andrew Monaghan, and eight juveniles on the field.

“There’s three sides to every story. His, hers, the truth, and what happened in between and you shouldn’t persecute and judge children until you know the facts,” one parent said.

“I think it’s a great call,” another parent said.

Police said Monaghan and the eight others assaulted two teens from another high school following a party last month. The players allegedly got out of a car, surrounded the victims and attacked. The motive, police said, seems to stem from an argument at the party.

“They got out, began hitting them, knocking them to the ground and once on the ground they were stomped and kicked,” said Wayne Police Chief John Reardon.

One of the victims was knocked unconscious. Both were out of the hospital Friday and have recovered.

Wayne’s school district points to state law that essentially says it can’t punish a student for anything he or she does not related to a school activity.

“An accusation doesn’t necessarily mean you’re guilty of something. It doesn’t mean something should be taken away from you without the opportunity to prove your innocence,” said Superintendent Michael Roth.

“Police charge people with a lot of things all the time. That’s why there’s a court system, so I think they should be allowed to play,” said parent Gary Hirsh.

Away from the field, however, some had a different take.

“Should not have played,” one resident said. “Because just like what’s going on with Penn State, it wasn’t right, and they should be held accountable for it.”

“They’re not being punished for something that they did, even if it wasn’t on school grounds,” said resident Ashley Shenice.

Wayne Hills is known for its successful football program, with seven state titles in the past decade and a coach, Chris Olsen, whose son, Greg Olsen, is a tight end for the Carolina Panthers.

“Excellent football team. Coach Olsen basically for the past 10 years has surpassed any of our expectations,” resident Brian Gorkowski said.

“They should play until they’re proven guilty,” Gorkowski said.

It is believed, if found guilty, it is unlikely the accused players will face any jail time.

Should the students be allowed to play? Sound off in our comments section below…

Wayne Hills H.S. Football Players Charged With Assault Play In Playoff Game Friday

nrichard

Why don’t you have the entire Wayne Hills football team tested for steroids – then the whiners and their parents won’t have to worry about playing football or any other high school sport – they’re all a bunch of dumb juice heads
John T.

With 7 state titles, of course the team needed to play these 9 young men charged with assault.
Criminal actions (alleged, of course) – especially when perpetrated off school grounds – should not stand in the way of a great football program.
Are there 9 more football scholarships still available at Penn State?
Z

I am a student at Hills but this is just pathetic.
Even if the attack was for the purpose of so-called “self-defense”.
What self-defense leaves a person beaten and lying on the road unconscious? No matter who the instigators were, it was wrong for Olsen to allow the football players to play in the game. They need to learn that there are boundaries and consequences for their actions.

“They should play until they’re proven guilty,”

Oh give me a break. Why don’t I hear anything about discipline? The football team at Wayne Hills is filled with druggies but I’ve yet to see any disciplinary actions taken for that either.
John Wayne

Hey Wayne Valley – WAKE UP. Those two Valley girls started this. Not even the Governor Christy will stand up to our Coach Olsen, star receiver Monoghan, and the mighty Wayne Hills.
We will see you in the NFL.

Simple

You’re an idiot.

p8nt

The mere fact that these idiots are still being investigated, they should have been barred from playing as well as be suspended from school. Goes to show how much pull athletes and coaches have over the school. What a huge waste of air and space.
rgben44

These kids should have been suspended from palying by the mere fact that they were consuming alcohol. This alone is usually aganist team rules . And it does not have to be proven in a court of law . If the coach had enough data to suggest they were drinkingi(which it sures seems like he had some eye witness acounts ) then he should have suspended them just for breaking team rules . (assuming that rules exists on this team )
Michelle

My son attends Wayne Valley and was present at the party and along with about 30 other kids, watched the fight. He admitted the victims continued to provoke the fight. The football team was wrong, if stories are proved true. But we, as adults, are clueless to the truth. There are 3 sides to the story, what he said, what she said, and the truth. It is actually sickening though, to think that the news channels take words and stories and twist them to ruin children’s lives, even the 18 year old. Imagine your child is being named and presented all over the news channel, you would be sick to your stomach. Im sure if it was your child, you would be on the other side of the argument because we as parents love our children unconditionally. None of you know the kids you are judging. We are all sticking our nose where it shouldn’t be. This should’ve been kept private for the sake of Wayne, Wayne Hills, the children, and their families. It is causing misery and even more rivalry all over wayne. Surely you can’t think this won’t result in more violence? Ignorance.

Kevin

Michelle,

Your story about your son attending the party and that the valley boys continued to provoke the fight is laughable.

I know for a fact that the Valley boys were asked by the home owners to help get everyone to leave because the party was getting out of hand.

Probably because they were serving beer to minors .

That said after the altercation ended the Valley boys left. they were then hunted down by 9 thugs and beat down.

Then you want it kept private so we can sweep it under the rug like nothing happened. You sound like a Chris Olsen fan. This is just what he would want to be done.

Lets all commit felony assault and battery and not tell anyone. Maybe they should not have even been charged. They are star football players after all. They do not have the same rules as the other people in the world.

We do not have to know the kids… the police, prosecutors and judge are not going to know the kids . They are not going to judge them on anything but the on the crimes that they have committed.

Finally. If your son was there and watched the fight why didn’t he call the police?

It is sad that as a mother you do not have a real grasp on the reality of this situation. Sounds like you are friends with a few of the thugs and feel bad for them. what a shame.

David

Kevin,
Did you witness the fight? I think not. Therefore, you saying “they said” is not helping to prove your case. The victims & valley supporters will say anything and everything they can to get the hills kids in trouble. The accused & hills supporters will say anything and everything they can to get the accused out of trouble. Thus, no one knows the truth, not even you.

Michelle did not say the kids should not be accused. However, she did say that the matter should have been kept between the police and families involved. All of wayne knew about the fight anyway. But the news reporters are sick for wanting to publicly display Monaghan’s mugshot when hes just a child, although he is 18 years of age. He is still a child, living under his parents roof, as are the other minors.

Those saying the kids shouldve played and defending olsen, i believe, are the less naive ones. You people think this doesnt ever happen. NEWS FLASH: stuff like this happens every high school party, some get publicized and busted, some don’t.

If these children are not old enough to drink alcohol, no one has any right to trash talk these kids over the internet. What they did was wrong, but the adults who have the nerve to judge children they don’t know, PATHETIC. Think if these were your kids, would you like their mugshot on the screen? or reporters twisting stories about your child?

Kevin

If they were my kids they would not have been playing football after being arrested. That is the whole point.

Yes children make mistakes and they need to be punished for them so they know what they did wrong and not to make the same mistakes again. Not make excuses for them so they think that they did not do anything wrong.

These kids committed felony assault they did not TP someones house.

FYI

If know several teenagers who were at the party. They all provided the same info. So When I say They said it is because they said . Unlike you who gets his info from the blog.

wayne mom

kevin,
my daughter was at the party. she said that the owners of the house did ask the kids to help them get people out. but she also said these kids were beyond nasty and screaming rude things to the hills kids provoking a fight. when the hills kids started making comments and nasty remarks back that is when a valley kid suckerpunched a hills kid in the head.
i am in no way condoning what these 9 kids did in anyway. but i do know not all 9 kids deserve to be charged with aggravated assult. 2 or 3 boys should be.
i think the kids should play because it is not olsens job or the school boards job to decide which kids are guilty of aggravated assult and which are not. it is a courts job. they all should be charged with assult including the valley kids and only a select few with aggravated assult. there is a big difference between the 2.
maybe you should stop getting your information from teenagers at a party because you clearly do not know the full story. but i can honestly say i do not know the full story either, so who are we to judge what these kids deserve when we dont know the truth.

Kevin

They should not play because they were arrested. Case closed. Their parents should be ashamed of themselves for leaving it up to the school to decide.

Olsen should have set an example that there is a code of ethics on his team and his team should be held to a higher standard. Instead he did just the opposite. Showing that he is the self centered ass that most feel he is.

Great coach but feels that he can do anything without consequence.

You need to understand the laws. If you are in a group and a crime was committed. then the entire group will be charged with the same crime. IE robbing a bank . The guy who sits in the get away car is as guilty as the guy inside the bank.

I am no contesting the issue of what happened inside of the house. It was took place outside of the house after the altercation ended that they were arrested for .

By the way all my info comes form Hills students. All of the parents I have spoken with(all Hills parents) are appalled and embarrassed by this incident. The only people who do not want these kids suspended are the people interested in football .
Dave

Weren’t you in part one of your comment quoting information from teenagers at a party, yet you try and dismiss another person’s comment because he did the same thing? How hypocritical, but I wouldn’t expect less from someone who actually defends the fact that they should play.

Let’s pretend this fight never happened and these kids just got caught drinking. By those grounds ALONE they shouldn’t have played. THEY WERE DRINKING UNDERAGE, DISRESPECTING THE TEAM THEY REPRESENT! THEY SHOULDN”T PLAY FOR THIS ALONE, LET ALONE BEATING A KID INTO THE HOSPITAL. It’s one thing to defend yourself. It’s another to beat a kid to near death, no matter who started it, they beat a kid and left him in the road! DO you really see nothing wrong with this?!

Lee

i’m with u Dave! What abouat the adults who had the paraty and let the underage kids drink? Put them on the stand!

wow

FINALLY A PARENT (KEVIN) WHO ISN’T BLINDED BY IGNORANCE!!! Parents need to STOP pretending their kids are untouchable and not hold them accountable for their poor choices….Michelle how can you NOT be appauled that your son did nothing to help? Has he not been taught morals or have a conscience?

Wayne

Michele= Your son is a geek. He wasnt at the party.
p8nt

Ignorance is letting these dumbasses play football after the fact. Regardless of who started it. If the “valley” kids did provoke the altercation, the “hills” dumbasses should’ve just left things alone. IF in fact they hunted down these kids, then proceeded to beat them unconscious, then they deserve to be beaten to hell and back. IF the victim ends up dying, I hope these dumbasses FRY!!!
Getting into a fight when your drunk is a mistake, hunting down the kids and beating them up, is premeditated. Your lawyers can spin it around and say they were under the influence, hence they weren’t coherent with their decisions. I say, they were coherent enough to do it.
The only thing that’s probably keeping the tension between both communities are the stupid parents and kids who think they can do what they want. Why not BE A PARENT, and discipline your kids !!!
WoW

Considering this happened in Wayne the kids are allowed to play ‘until proven guilty’ and lets ignore the under age alcohol consumption that was witnessed at this party….If this had happened in Paterson all 9 kids would have been treated as criminals and not as kids ‘defending themselves’. As for the media destroying these kids lives…really? Are you THAT blinded by your chilldren that you can’t see there were NINE teens who behaved wrecklessly and endangered the lives of TWO??? Explain that one…Explain why should these NINE not be held accountable for their poor choices? THATS the problem with today’s parents…we want to pretend our children are incapable of behaving badly and refuse to let them live the consequences for their mistakes. Whatever the reason for this riot it should have NEVER resulted in violence PERIOD.

Disgusted in NJ

If I am correct NJ law(HIB) states that any bullying outside of school is now school business. This went into effect September 1,2011. I would consider what these 9 boys did much more than bullying. These boys should sit out no matter what sport they are playing or for what school, Wayne Hills Superintendent should be ashamed of himself , the coach the players and the parents. Lets hope things change before the next game so maybe these boys will learn a lesson and not think their behavior is ok!!!!
Dave

I wonder if all these people would still be defending this decision if it were members of another organization, not being the football team. I bet a lot of you would be singing a different tune…including the superintendent.
Someone

No dont let them play.
Wayne

Are you refering to the same mob mentality that caused 9 felons to beat on two children?
M.Ross

These comments demonstrate a mistaken belief by Wayne Hills residents that this incident is unworthy of sanctions. We cannot convince them, or temporary Superintendant Ross, otherwise.

However, I also think that parents in other high schools would be remiss to allow thier children to play against Wayne Hill’s Felons.

Every High School has the power to de-schedule Wayne Hills from its schedule until such time as these felons are removed from the team and Coach Olsen is terminated.

In any event Temporary Superintendant Ross should be dismissed since his responsibilities include all Wayne schools, not just Wayne Hills Football.
Confused

If no crime has been committed by Wayne Hills football team, why is Wayne township paying for police protection of Wayne Hills Coach Olsen ?

Jabril

becasue of no lives like you who have nothing better to do than make a story out of nothing and ruin the lives of others. Congrats

Wayne

Jabril: Why doesn’t Coach just use the 9 felons to protect him, they can obviously beat on any two “no lives” like me.

snerone

There are some “typical” mob mentality responses from those that will have an axe to grind with Chris Olsen and the Football program. Now some have gone way overboard with the steroid accusations. Stop now, are there instances of some trouble or issues over the almost 25 years of EXCELLENCE, absolutely !! But then again, I hear the band gets caught smoking and drinking every few years too. The fact that Chris is there to SUPPORT his players , UNCONDITIONALLY, is great. It would be a crime if he DIDN’T. And… The State of NJ has a MANDATORY RANDOM STEROID testing for athletes in the state that is maintained, so please give that garbage up.I haven’t read or heard that Coach Olsen is doing anything but following the laws that the Supt. Directs him to follow. But hopefully, out of loyalty to his players , he will continue to support his players, right or wrong now and in the future. It would be a shame if he didn’t.

Kevin

Wayne Hills students that were present at the party are saying that :.

There was beer being served there!!!

This incident of ganging up on others by the football team is not the 1st. They even have a name for it “Curb Kicking” .

They are also stating that there are players taking steroids (could be HGH as there are no real tests that detect this)

As far as our esteemed coach’s reputation,, I read somewhere that he was fired from Bergenfield because he slapped a kid in the face. I have no knowledge if this is true or not … Do You?

What I do know is he did provide the seniors from his team a letter for a judge to read vouching for their character . These players were convicted of burglarizing homes in Pines Lake .

I have no ax to grind with Mr Olsen. I have never met him. Do not have any children in HS. I am just appalled by his actions or should I say lack there of.

He needs to be fired for allowing the players to play, making one of them call the coin toss and making him a captain.

It’s his moral fiber that is in question here.

Football is not what is important here

mark

You need to get your facts straight. The two “victims” were the ones who had brought alcohol to the party. Noone calls it “curb kicking” unless your from the 19th century and the football team does not gang up to hurt anyone. They stay together because they are more than a team, they are a family. If you were close to the team, you would realize that they are well bred young men who strive to become succsessfull men. Noone on the team takes steroids which is proven by the mandatory drug testing that is done to every single player. Wayne Hills is no different than any other football program except for the fact that they win because of their excellent coaching staff. Coach Olsen is the greatest highschool coach in the state of New Jersey. If he wasnt a likeable personality, his players would hate him by now. I have yet to meet a player of his that has any harsh feelings about Mr. Olsen. He’s always looked at as a very charitable family man with a good set of morals. That accusation is not true so please keep crap like that to yourself. These players were not accused of burglurizing any homes in Pines Lake. You clearly have never been a teenage kid with any sort of life if you think that what they did was “burglurizing”. Coach Olsen is the greatest personality in the town and you need to reevaluate urself as a human being. Get your facts straight and get a life before you ruin others.

Kevin

Mark reading is fundamental.. obviously this was lost on you. These thugs were not burglarizing homes in pines lake, it was 2 former players from the prior OLSEN GANG.

2ndly you need to get your facts straight. The boys who were assaulted were invited to the party by the owners of the home, who were family friends .

When the party started to get it of hand the owners asked them to help to tell everyone to leave. That’s when the original altercation started. After that was broken up the 2 Valley boys left and that’s when the mob left the party and hunted them down in the street.

If you do not know what you are talking about you should not comment

Finally the Wayne Hills kids do call it curb kicking. You are obviously out of the loop and not in the know. Stick to an area that you actually have some knowledge. From you comments this is not it .

You again are one of those people who only care about the football team and not the rest of the town. It is no wonder why you support the coach you thinking is 1 and the same.

Wayne MOM

Okay lets say Coach Olsen is a good man, great coach and it’s wonderful he sticks behind his players. I don’t think we really want to dispute that. The problem is, his players, not 9 high school random kids, his 9 football players, took a boys fight up to the next level, and the right thing for him to do was to investigate it and make a decision whether to play them or not. He denied knowing about the incident this past week, but know he knows. Let’s give him the opportunity to do what’s right this week.

J Black

You are an example of what is wrong in this country……justifying poor behavior.

Being a teenage is NOT an excuse for acting like an idoit.

Jorge Hardin

my buddy’s mother makes $72 hourly on the internet. She has been fired for 6 months but last month her check was $7635 just working on the internet for a few hours. Go to this site nirl.eu/m
Marie

For all of you who are living life with blinders on , you need to wake up. This was a gang attack. There were 9 football players that were drinking beer at a party . From what I hear most if not all were also taking steroids. This is not the 1st alcohol related party . There also the RUSH parties that these teens are attending. You know they call them rush party’s because they text as many people as the can and they want to see how many they can get to people can rush over to the party before the cops come to break it up.

Coach Olsen needs to be . This is not the 1st incident from his thugs. Last year he had 2 seniors from his team burglarizing homes in Pines Lake. When the got arrested and went to trial he gave them a statement for the judge to read praising them for their good character.

Let’s not forget the fist fight he had with another teacher few years back

He needs to be fired.

He has no morals allowing these players to play much less be a captain of the team.

It appears that several of you who have written comments about this story need to make a self evaluation of your morals. This is not about football, not about Wayne Hills vs Wayne Valley. This is about a gang of 9 thugs beating up 2 children, leaving 1 lying in the street unconscious and nothing else.

I wonder how you would react if it was your child or one of his friends that was on the other end of the beating.

SHAME on you all.

OLSEN MUST GO.

Gary

You do know that the two “victims” had shown up to the party drunk and they had thrown the first punch right?

Kevin

You need to get your facts straight. The boys who were assaulted were invited to the party by the owners of the home, who were family friends .

When the party started to get it of hand the owners asked them to help to tell everyone to leave. That’s when the original altercation started. After that was broken up the 2 Valley boys left and that’s when the mob left the party and hunted them down in the street.

If you do not know what you are talking about you should not comment

anonymous

kevin,
thats funny you say that because you clearly have no idea what your talking about.
maybe your the one who shouldnt be commenting

Kevin

Obviously you are getting all your info from Olsen, as he even denied knowing that there was any incident .

You should look into what I am saying as it is right on point. you on the other hand have your head buried in the sand .

Wake up

Wayne

Gary: While your facts are totally wrong, even if true 9 Felons should not beat on two guys, particularly after the initial altercation has ended and these two are heading home.
Your precious players (Felons) are going to jail.
The 18 year old will have a criminal record.
None of them will play in college or the NFL.

COACH OLSEN is a prison guard in WAYNE HILLS PENITENTIARY.
SUP. ROSS is the retired warden.

snerone

Whatever the rules are they have been followed to probably the most extreme legality. These were kids at a party and there was an altercation. Happens probably EVERY week in every town across America. If all the idiot parents would let this sort out, the kids will probably all be friends and drinking buddies at some point in their life. Being from Wayne, I can attest to it. There will of course be all the jealous nipping at Chris Olsens heels because of the success of HIS program. If he DID look after his kids and made sure they played, GREAT for HIM and the kids… they all have earned that priveledge. I would doubt it was his call though. He still has rules and laws to follow and we all know that if he had no regard for them the next story printed would be of him losing his job.
Kids make mistakes, last I checked , everyone does. Who knows what the real story is, but its good to see that the kids weren’t hung out to dry. No one is gonna turn back time and give them a game back that they are pulled from. I hope the Science Dept Head doesn’t remove them from Chemistry or any of their classes because that would be the same as removing them from football.As for any critisism pointed at Chris Olsen, just back off. This talk is occurring BECAUSE of his and the players, present and past, level of excellence. Wayne Hills is one of the premier public programs in the COUNTRY . Chris and the team are not there because they are anything but the best at what they do.

anonymous

thank you for putting the most reasonable response ive ever read. you are completly right and i couldnt agree more.
hackensack1

OK, my last comment was a bit harsh…the kids should have STOPPED the attack or just WALKED AWAY. I don’t think that the wayne police are simply being impulsive and rounding up any old person. there has to be substantial evidence pointing to these kids. could some of them have been innocent bystanders…maybe, however my point in commenting in the first place is this…every one of those kids parents should have immediately pulled their child from playing in friday nights game and as a parent himself, Chris Olsen should have understood that and supported that. instead, these children were rewarded by being allowed to play in the game, as if nothing happened. what lesson are we teaching our children?
anonymous 1

did i miss something? if i am not mistaken, chemistry is a REQUIREMENT as well as all other classes in HS are with the exception of some electives. Football is an EXTRACURRICULAR activity which means that it is not a REQUIREMENT to play, it is a PRIVILEGE. there is a big difference between the two.

Jimmy

unless you become a chemist, will you ever use chemistry in your life??? High School football has become alot more than an activity, it has become a package of memories that these kids bring with them for the rest of their lives. Football is just as much of a requirement as is chemistry.

Gary

So why isn’t everyone required to be on a football team of it is so necessary. Must be nice to live in your fantasy world.

You know what they say ignorance is bliss.

Wake up and see the real world for what t is.

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Wayne Hills H.S. Football Players Charged With Assault Play In Playoff Game Friday

Reaction Mixed -- In Stands, Good Call; Away From Football, Sets Bad Example

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