The Patchogue-Medford High School varsity football team will forfeit its final game of the season following an alleged bathroom “vandalism” incident after the team’s 34-0 loss on Saturday at Lindenhurst, superintendent Donna Jones said in a message sent to the school district community.

The Raiders, who were 2-5 after the loss to Lindenhurst, were scheduled to host Sachem East on Friday night for the Veterans Recognition Game.

“We write to you today with great disappointment and sadness that as a result of the inexcusable behavior and vandalism by members of the Patchogue-Medford High School Varsity Football Team to bathroom facilities at Lindenhurst School District’s Alleghany Avenue Elementary School during an away game this past weekend, Friday’s varsity football game against Sachem has been forfeited,” Jones wrote in a message distributed through the district’s ParentSquare portal. “This decision was made after careful consideration and in light of the fact that following multiple meetings with team members this past Monday and Tuesday, no player was willing to come forward to take responsibility for the defacement.”

“At Lindenhurst High School football games,” Jones continued, “visiting teams are provided access to the Alleghany Avenue Elementary School gymnasium, two faculty bathrooms, and one student bathroom for before- and after-game preparations. Based on testimony and interviews with Lindenhurst School District maintenance personnel, no one but the Patchogue-Medford High School Varsity Football Team members were in the elementary school all weekend. Expected adult supervision of the team in the elementary school gymnasium was present; however, in recognition of privacy guidelines, adults do not accompany students into bathroom facilities, which is where the vandalism took place.”

Jones’s message didn’t detail the nature and extent of the damage. A district spokeswoman said the district isn’t commenting beyond the pair of messages sent to the Pat-Med community.
Ed Langone, coordinator of communications for the Lindenhurst School District, described the nature of the damage as “minor vandalism” to “some items in the bathroom,” which was discovered by building staff following the football game. He didn’t elaborate further.

Jones’s message said the football coaching staff and athletic director Anthony Cracco met with team members on Monday and Tuesday to find out who caused the damage, but no players took responsibility.

Jones said the district won’t be taking action beyond forfeiting Friday’s game.

In a second message sent to the Pat-Med community, and to dispel what she said were rumors, Jones said varsity football team members won’t be barred from trying out for and playing on Pat-Med’s winter or spring sports teams.

As for the veterans recognition ceremony, it will be rescheduled to take place at a school sports event in either the winter or spring, Jones said.

Langone, the Lindenhurst spokesman, said his district won’t be pursuing the matter.

“They [Pat-Med] stepped up and as far as we are concerned, the matter is closed,” Langone said.

Tom Combs, executive director for Section XI, which oversees school sports in Suffolk County, said it doesn’t plan to take any action against Pat-Med.

Here are the two statements from Pat-Med superintendent Donna Jones sent to the Pat-Med community:

Message from superintendent Dr. Donna Jones to the Patchogue-Medford School District Community:

Dear Patchogue-Medford School District Community,

We write to you today with great disappointment and sadness that as a result of the inexcusable behavior and vandalism by members of the Patchogue-Medford High School Varsity Football Team to bathroom facilities at Lindenhurst School District’s Alleghany Avenue Elementary School during an away game this past weekend, Friday’s varsity football game against Sachem has been forfeited. This decision was made after careful consideration and in light of the fact that following multiple meetings with team members this past Monday and Tuesday, no player was willing to come forward to take responsibility for the defacement.

At Lindenhurst High School football games, visiting teams are provided access to the Alleghany Avenue Elementary School gymnasium, two faculty bathrooms, and one student bathroom for before- and after-game preparations. Based on testimony and interviews with Lindenhurst School District maintenance personnel, no one but the Patchogue-Medford High School Varsity Football Team members were in the elementary school all weekend. Expected adult supervision of the team in the elementary school gymnasium was present; however, in recognition of privacy guidelines, adults do not accompany students into bathroom facilities, which is where the vandalism took place.

Upon learning of the defacement of the Lindenhurst facilities by Patchogue-Medford student-athletes, the football coaching staff and the District’s athletic director met with the team and held individual discussions, encouraging those responsible to come forward. These meetings were held on both Monday and Tuesday of this week. While several players indicated they had heard about the vandalism, no student, as noted above, took responsibility for the damage that took place or presented any video evidence of the actual vandalism. As of this morning, even with the knowledge that Friday’s final season game would be forfeited if no one came forward, there was only silence from all team members.

The decision to forfeit Friday’s game was a difficult one for the District. We waited until today to make this decision, hoping a player or players would come forward for the benefit of their teammates, who were all going to be penalized by the actions of a few. Sadly, it did not happen. We realize the importance of this final game, especially since this was designated as our Veterans Recognition Game in partnership with the Patchogue-Medford Hall of Fame. However, we believe it is essential to set a clear standard for our students that upholds the values and integrity of our teams and our District. The damage and defacement of another school’s facilities while we are guests in their district is completely unacceptable. It is our commitment as a District to develop our scholars into responsible citizens who demonstrate accountability and respect, and the decision to forfeit the game aligns with this mission. We deeply apologize to the Lindenhurst School District and community for what took place.

We have engaged in substantial conversations with the Hall of Fame and the Veterans Recognition Ceremony organizers, and they expressed their absolute support for our decision as we look to ensure our veterans are properly honored. We are coordinating to reschedule the Veterans Recognition Ceremony for an athletics competition in the winter or spring to appropriately recognize and celebrate our veterans.

Sincerely,

Donna Jones, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Message from superintendent Dr. Donna Jones to the Patchogue-Medford School District:

Dear Patchogue-Medford School District Community,

You may have heard unsubstantiated rumors that members of the Patchogue-Medford High School Varsity Football Team will not be able to participate on winter and spring sports teams as a result of the vandalism at Lindenhurst School District’s Alleghany Avenue Elementary School this past weekend. This is completely untrue. As stated in the previous message sent to the community, the consequence for the inexcusable actions during the Lindenhurst game is the forfeit of the team’s Friday game against Sachem. We have not imposed any limitations on these student-athletes’ ability to try out and play on any of our winter or spring varsity teams.

Sincerely,

Donna Jones, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools