April 13, 2004

IN THEIR FIRST NETWORK TV INTERVIEW, COACHES OF MEPHAM (N.Y.) HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM SPEAK CANDIDLY TO "48 HOURS INVESTIGATES" ABOUT THE HAZING INCIDENT -- WEDNESDAY, APRIL 14

Coaches Provide Never-Before-Seen Videotape of Players That They Say Proves They Had No Way of Knowing About the Incident

Last summer, when the parents of freshman football players at Mepham High School in Bellemore, Long Island sent their kids off to football camp in Pennsylvania, they never imagined it would be their worst nightmare. For the first time on network television, the coaches speak candidly about the brutal hazing incident in an interview with correspondent Peter Van Sant. 48 HOURS INVESTIGATES: "Dangerous Minds" will be broadcast on Wednesday, April 14 (10:00-11:00PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Over the course of five days, three Mepham High varsity football players sodomized three of their younger teammates repeatedly with a broomstick and other objects dipped in mineral ice, beat them and then duct taped them to their beds. But the coaches who supervised the trip said they had no idea this was happening.

In what they contend proves nothing was visibly wrong with the boys, the coaches provide 48 HOURS INVESTIGATES with a videotape of the football scrimmage they say was recorded on the last day of camp. This is the first time this tape has been made public.

Despite the coaches' claims that they knew nothing of the hazing, the parents of both victims say their kids told them they were screaming at the top of their lungs, screams the coaches say they never heard. When Van Sant asks Art Cannestro, the junior varsity coach, whether the boys were lying about the screams, Cannestro says, "Yeah, they have to be lying."

The parents say the abuse has had a severe emotional impact on both of their boys. One mother says of her son, "He's suicidal... he needs sleeping pills at night to go to bed. You know, the nightmares are endless. "

The victims' mothers, Carol and Patty, talk to Van Sant about the abuse inflicted on their sons: Carol: "My son, he was tortured...it was an environment like a prison." Patty: "They had bags of ice and they were bashing it all over his body until the bags broke. They bashed him in his head, over his back, his legs, his arms...chunks of ice...and they kept doing it until the bags just ripped...and they filled another bag...and it started all over again." PVS: "How often was your son assaulted?" Patty: "More than I can count. It was at least 3-4 a day for him." Patty: "Something happened in between those practices every single time, to my son. Okay? This wasn't just something that happened when the lights went out."

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The parents and other critics don't understand how the coaches couldn't have known what was happening and blame them for not better supervising the kids while in their cabins. But Mepham's head football coach, Kevin McElroy, and junior varsity coach, Art Cannestro, who have since been dismissed from the school, said they had no indication that anything was going on.

The following is an excerpt from Van Sant's interview with McElroy: PVS: "Do you look back now and realize that to put kids in charge of kids is a bad idea in these cabins?" KM: "No. One of the things we have to have is leadership responsibilities. Now, I picked the wrong kids this year. To put a coach in the room, you're putting the coach or the adult right now at incredible risk of sexual charges. What if I get out of the shower and another kid walks out of the shower next to me and says I looked at him? Now you have sexual implications."

The coaches say before blaming them for not knowing, the parents should take a closer look at themselves. But the parents find it hard to believe that the coaches are trying to play the victim role. One victim's father tells Van Sant, "They've blamed us, you know, for not knowing...they've blamed the kids in the room who said nothing...and you know they haven't taken one bit of responsibility. For them to feel that they're victimized here is just hard to accept."

The hour also includes a report from correspondent Maureen Maher, who conducts an exclusive interview with two high school shooters in Tennessee. Serving life sentences, both men now speak to students about their personal stories and encourage others to seek help rather than keeping their problems and anger to themselves.

Also, correspondent Harold Dow returns to Columbine High School for a rare inside look five years later and speaks to the daughters and students of Dave Sanders, the only teacher killed that tragic day.

48 HOURS INVESTIGATES: "Dangerous Minds" is produced by Patti Aronofsky, Lisa Freed and James Stolz. Al Briganti is the executive editor and Susan Zirinsky is the executive producer.

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Press Contact: Andie Silvers 212/975-3328 silversa@cbsnews.com