Baumgardner: It's important to teach teens to stand up for what's right

By now many have heard about the Sayreville, N.J., high school football team whose entire season was suspended after the school superintendent learned of hazing incidents in the team locker room. Seven teens were arrested and charged with participating in hazing rituals that reportedly included sexually assaulting freshman players.

? What is at stake here? Considering the future of each of these teens' lives, what is the potential lasting impact of this type of behavior? Some will say "Boys will be boys. What's the big deal?" Others will say this isn't just hazing, this is outright abuse.

? After the cancellation of the season, many parents complained that this was hurting their child's potential scholarship opportunities, that it isn't fair to punish the entire team for the actions of a few, that perhaps the superintendent's reaction was too harsh.

? What are your thoughts? ? What supposedly happened took place in the locker room in the presence of the entire team. If that is the case, who should be held accountable for what happened? Those who actually participated in the act? Those who witnessed it and said nothing?

You might remember an incident in 2012 in Steubenville, Ohio, involving two teens who were star athletes on the high school football team. Both were convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl and sentenced to time behind bars. As in the Sayreville incident, people actually witnessed the rape and did nothing to stop it. When the victim's parents pressed charges, her family received threats and statements were made such as "She was asking for it." One of the boys pleaded with the victim not to press charges because it would ruin his football career.

Literally millions of dollars have been spent on anti-bullying and abuse prevention campaigns targeting teens. Young people are told this behavior is unacceptable and, if you see something say something.

It is highly unlikely that Sayreville or Steubenville are the only two places in the country where incidents like this have taken place. What seems troubling is the parents' response to these situations. They seem more concerned about the football season and scholarship money than the potential lifelong impact of this situation for the teens who were hazed.

One could understand teens complaining about the punishment being too harsh because the judgment/decision-making part of their brain isn't fully developed. The more difficult thing to understand is parents who don't want their children held accountable. If your teen was the one who was held down and raped as part of a football team initiation, what would you want to happen?

Kudos to the teens brave enough to say something. Clearly, more conversations need to be had to help teens understand that stopping someone from taking advantage of another person is not "ratting them out." It is the right thing to do.

Teaching teens about sexual assault and what to do if they witness someone taking advantage of another person is absolutely vital. Parents cannot sit back and believe that this is all just part of growing up. There is too much at stake for our young people.

Julie Baumgardner is the president and CEO of First Things First. Contact her at julieb@firstthings.org.

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