Agawam Schools Superintendent Mary A. Czajkowski will announce this afternoon whether she will cancel the Thanksgiving Day football game with West Springfield in the wake of a hazing incident last week involving the football team.
Czajkowski is currently interviewing the football coaches about the incident as she continues to investigate the circumstances, said Alexis J. Ferioli, the superintendent’s executive assistant.
Czajkowski will complete her inquiry today and plans to hold a press conference in Agawam at 3 p.m. today to announce her decision, Ferioli said.
“She’s been working on it all weekend,’ Ferioli said of the superintendent.”She is meeting with the coaches this morning. She is going to complete her investigation and will make a decision this afternoon.’
Ferioli added, “I’m sure people are going to be upset, one way or the other. But we are trying to do our best.”
Four students were suspended and four coaches were placed on paid administrative leave after the hazing, which took place late Wednesday afternoon in the locker room after practice, Czajkowski told the Globe this weekend.
Czajkowski said officials believe seven players were targets of the hazing, although that number could change. No one was reported injured.
The four players were suspended for 10 days and will miss the Thanksgiving game. More suspensions may come, Czajkowski said.
The four coaches, including the head coach, are on paid administrative leave pending the results of an investigation, Czajkowski said.
Czajkowski declined to provide details of what happened, saying that school officials and police are investigating.
“When a crime is committed, I need to enforce the law,’ she said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, not just for our students but for our high school.’
The head coach of the West Springfield football team, Chad LaBonte, said this weekend he doesn’t know any details about the case but a lot of people will be disappointed if the game is canceled.
“This is something they look forward to their whole life,” he said.
The case came to the attention of school authorities after a parent of one of the targeted students notified school officials, who alerted police and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association, Czajkowski said.
The suspended seniors will miss the last football game of their high school careers Thursday, but Czajkowski said she needs to protect all students.
“We are entrusted with the safety of these students,’ she said this weekend. “That’s our duty, our obligation, to secure their safety. If they wanted to play, that’s something they should have thought about.’
