Nov 24, 2009 6:36 pm US/Eastern
BHS Seniors To Miss 2 Games After Alcohol Incident
BROCKTON (WBZ) ―
Three Brockton High School football players will sit out the next two games, including their big Thanksgiving Day matchup, after one was charged with drunken driving and the two others were cited for having open containers of beer.
The three players and a former player were pulled over by police in Avon on Saturday shortly before 8:30 p.m. on Central Street.
Police said that they were smashing into shopping carts at the Cosco parking lot.
Linebacker Edward Cassidy, 17, who was allegedly driving the car, was charged with OUI. Quarterback Samuel Previte, kicker James McAvoy and former player Kevin Gillis, all 17, were cited for possession of open containers of alcohol.
Under Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association rules, MIAA, players caught with booze for the first time are required to miss 25 percent of the season, which works out to be about two games in football – the Thanksgiving Day games against Waltham and the school's first playoff game.
"The rules are harsh but I believe fair. It's dangerous. It's illegal and God forbid we could have been covering a worse story. They could have destroyed their lives, it's serious business. So, yes, I hope if anything good comes out of this, it's lessons learned the hard way," says Principal Susan Szachowicz, PhD.
Dr. Szachowicz said the players cried when they apologized to their teammates and the school. She says, to their credit, they did not say they made a mistake but, rather, a bad decision. She notes the difference is that a mistake is something you do not intend while a choice is intentional.
Coaches and players were not available for comment as they focused on their big Thanksgiving game against Waltham.
The principal said all the suspended players are good students from good families she knows. Previte, McAvoy and Gillis were awarded Adams scholarships, for free tuition at any state college or university, just before their disciplinary meetings. Previte's father is the freshman coach, McAvoy's is a police officer and Cassidy's a former city councilor.
MIAA rules allow school district to exceed required punishment. Brockton High's principal says that will be up to the coach.
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