MINEOLA, N.Y. -- Mepham High School football coach Kevin McElroy said Tuesday he was "shocked" by allegations that members of his varsity squad sexually abused younger players and said he wasn't told of the alleged attacks until five days after returning from a Pennsylvania training camp.
McElroy also said that although no charges have been filed, "I believe that it did happen."
Speaking about the allegations for the first time since they were revealed in early September, and with his attorney at his side, McElroy said he is "devastated about what happened ... we took every possible precaution."
Investigators in Wayne County, Pa., are reviewing claims that members of the Bellmore, N.Y., football team sodomized younger players with a broomstick, pine cones and golf balls during a five-day trip in late August to the Camp Wayne for Girls, in Preston Park, Pa.
Wayne County District Attorney Mark Zimmer issued a dozen subpoenas for the coaches, principal John Didden and six players to testify before a grand jury. Zimmer said on Monday, however, that witnesses who were initially reluctant to testify are now cooperating and it may not be necessary for them to formally appear before the grand jury.
McElroy, who began by reading a statement of sympathy to the victims, said he and his coaches were the ones who recommended that the entire eight-game football season be canceled in response to the allegations. No games were played.
"We don't just teach athletics out there," said McElroy, who has been the team's head coach for 17 years. "We're teachers and educators, and it's important for people to do the right thing. The right thing has not been done here."
He said players who knew about the attacks but failed to report them violated the school's Code of Conduct.
"Most of them, and I will say most of them, knew about what happened," McElroy said. "I'm not saying they witnessed it. That I can't say. I wasn't there."
He said the players, all boys, had "a responsibility to report it, at the very least to the coaching staff, and do the right thing. And instead they chose to hide it from us and they did the wrong thing."
He insisted that he and his assistants were unaware of any hazing. About 60 players shared five cabins at the camp, while the coaches stayed in a separate cabin.
McElroy also said that during the alleged attacks, the coaches heard "no screaming."
"There was no noise," he said. "There was nothing to give us any hint of what was going on."
He said that despite some calls for his resignation, he had no intention of quitting. He said of those calling for him to resign: "I don't think they know all the facts about the case. I don't think they know all the facts about what we did."
McElroy said players were given a list of rules about their behavior at camp, including warnings against hazing, smoking, drinking alcohol or leaving the campgrounds. He said the players and their parents signed agreements that said "if their behavior was inappropriate at camp they would be sent home."
The coach joined those urging anyone with information to come forward. The social studies teacher said some of his players are in his classes in school but none has spoken with him about the scandal.
"I talk about doing right and wrong and how it's impacted the entire community, how these victims are going to be scarred for life," McElroy said. "They listen, but they don't come up to me, and I can't answer why. I'm not in their heads. I can't speculate."
He said school policy has prevented him from contacting the victims' families, but if given the chance, "I would say I'm sorry for not being able to take care of your son, but we tried everything in our power to do it."
The coach said of his players, "They know that they let me down."
HIGH SCHOOLS
The school district that is home to one of the nation's most successful high school football teams is moving toward meeting the recommendations of an audit regarding an unauthorized football booster club. But the Berwick Area School District and the state Department of Education still have not resolved a years-old issue, uncovered in a previous audit, over whether football coach George Curry was improperly supervising the district's guidance counselors. The audit report, which was made public Monday, says that the school district has adequate policy in place to deal with the Mom Squad, an unofficial booster club that has been criticized for operating outside the district's guidelines. PRO BASKETBALL
The Toronto Raptors signed center Stanley Roberts, who was reinstated by the NBA in January after a drug-related ban. Roberts, 33, last appeared in the NBA during the 1999-2000 season with Philadelphia. The 7-foot, 290-pound Roberts averaged 2.0 points and 3.0 rebounds in five games with the 76ers.
The New Orleans Hornets signed second-round pick James Lang and free agents Kareem Reid and Paul Shirley. Lang, a 6-foot-10, 305-pound center out of Central Park Christian School in Birmingham, Ala., was the 48th pick in the draft. Shirley, a 6-10 forward, appeared in two games with the Atlanta Hawks last season after being called up from the Yakima Sun Kings of the CBA. He played at Iowa State, including two seasons under Hornets coach Tim Floyd.
Portland Trail Blazers center Chris Dudley announced his retirement following 16 seasons in the NBA. LAWN BOWLING
Eileen Luba of O'Hara Township and Lois Saladin of Squirrel Hill won the women's pairs division of the United States Championship of lawn bowls last week in Pinehurst, N.C. Luba and Saladin are members of the Frick Park Lawn Bowling Club. It was their seventh attempt at winning the title. HOCKEY
The University of Minnesota will host the women's 2006 NCAA Frozen Four. Minnesota hosted the inaugural Women's Frozen Four in 2001, drawing 5,114 during the two-day tournament. HORSE RACING
Jockey Patrick Valenzuela was granted a delay of a five-day suspension by the California Horse Racing Board. The suspension would have prevented him from riding today through Sunday at Santa Anita's Oak Tree meeting. Racing authorities contended he interfered with a horse ridden by Omar Berrio on Sept. 8 at Del Mar. Both jockeys were fined $500 each for a fight after the race. MOTOR SPORTS
A judge rejected a request by two businessmen who wanted the Canadian Grand Prix exempted from federal anti-tobacco legislation. Superior Court Justice Jean Crepeau refused to consider arguments the sponsorship ban would hurt the city's economy by depriving it of millions spent during the Formula One event. The race was not renewed on the Formula One schedule for next year because of legislation prohibiting the use of tobacco logos at sporting and cultural events. About half the F1 teams are financed by tobacco companies. OLYMPICS
The IOC opened disciplinary proceedings into Jerome Young's 1999 positive drug test, a case that could cost the United States a relay gold medal from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The IOC's actions follow confirmation by the U.S. Olympic Committee last week that Young tested positive for steroids in 1999 but was cleared on appeal by U.S. track and field officials. Young went on to win a gold medal as part of the men's 1,600-meter relay team in Sydney.
The U.S. baseball team will open against Colombia on Oct. 30 in the Americas tournament, a qualifying event in Panama for the Athens Olympics. The United States will play six games in the preliminary round in a schedule announced by the International Baseball Federation and the Pan American Baseball Confederation. SOCCER
South Africa made a strong presentation to land the 2010 World Cup, highlighting its bid with a taped message from former President Nelson Mandela and English soccer star David Beckham. Morocco, in its fourth attempt to stage the showcase, and Egypt also entered official bids. A Tunisia-Libya joint bid was rejected by the governing body but each applied individually. Nigeria withdrew a day earlier because of a lack of money, although FIFA had not received confirmation. TENNIS
Top-seeded Tommy Robredo of Spain beat Jurgen Melzer of Austria, 6-2, 7-6 (5), to reach the second round of the Open de Moselle, one of three new ATP tournaments this year.
Defending champion Magdalena Maleeva was knocked out of the Kremlin Cup in the first round, losing, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, to Russian teenager Dinara Safina.
Top-seeded Rainer Schuettler of Germany advanced to the third round at the Japan Open, beating Japan's Satoshi Iwabuchi, 6-0, 6-4. Schuettler, ranked No. 8 in the world, lost to Andre Agassi in the final of the Australian Open in January. OFF THE FIELD
A lawyer for Mike Tyson sought the dismissal of misdemeanor assault charges filed against the former heavyweight champion after a brawl with two men at a Brooklyn hotel. Lawyer Mel Sachs and prosecutors will trade written arguments before a Nov. 24 hearing. Tyson will not be required to attend. He did not speak during a brief appearance in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn.
HORSE RACING
Empire Maker was retired in an expected move marking the end of a racing career highlighted by a Belmont Stakes victory that denied Funny Cide the Triple Crown. The 3-year-old colt won four of eight career starts with three runner-up finishes, one in the Kentucky Derby. He will stand stud at Juddmonte Farms in Lexington.
OLYMPICS
Federal investigators will look into allegations that the U.S. Olympic Committee has discriminated against women in its hiring and promotion practices, Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell said. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission formed a five-member task force to respond to discrimination claims that were raised by 14 female employees of the Olympic committee, Campbell spokesman Camden Hubbard said after the Colorado Republican met with senior members of the EEOC.
MOTOR SPORTS
NASCAR driver Larry Foyt, who broke his wrist in a wreck last weekend, still plans to compete Sunday at Kansas Speedway.
Elliott Sadler was back in his race car, just days after a frightening accident at Talladega Superspeedway. Sadler was not injured in the wreck Sunday when his car went flipping down the backstretch of the Alabama track. He made contact with Kurt Busch six laps from the finish and his car flew into the air, sliding on its roof through the grass before flipping 4 1/2 times and coming to rest right side up.
NASCAR owner Richard Childress will not renew driver Steve Park's contract at the end of the season.
GOLF
Tiger Woods changed drivers for the third time this year, returning to a Nike club that will be the largest he has ever used in competition. Woods, who has a five-year contract with Nike worth over $125 million, has struggled with his driver all year and switched to his old Titleist 975D model two months ago in search of more control off the tee. Woods has been using the Nike Igniter prototype the last few weeks, and said he will use it when the tournament starts Thursday at Capital City Club north of Atlanta. The new driver is 335cc, which dwarfs the 265cc head of his old Titleist and even the 300cc head of his previous Nike driver.
