Some high school football players on Staten Island are going to court after their season was put on hold because of hazing allegations. NY1's Amanda Farinacci filed this report.
Banned from their football field, a group of Susan Wagner high school varsity football players huddled on the street outside their lawyer's office.
They're getting ready to sue the Department of Education for placing their last season on hold.
"I thought it was innocent until proven guilty. Why can't we practice and play games until we find out evidence and true proof that what we did was wrong?" asks senior football player Cameron Schwartz.
The DOE canceled practice and games until further notice after allegations of hazing stemming from time the team spent at an upstate football camp last month.
The parents of some JV players say some varsity players shot at them with BB guns, drew inappropriate symbols on them with permanent marker and sat naked on their faces. Several students and one coach have already faced disciplinary action. The rest of the team, including 20 seniors, have also been banned from play.
"It was not the whole team. Us varsity players did not target lower class man in any way. (Is there any initiation that goes on?) no. No. Not at all," says Chris Angelone.
The lawsuit is set to be filed Friday. It cites the importance of play for seniors like Christopher Frange, who had hoped to catch the eye of college scouts and earn a scholarship next year:
"I was just hoping for anything. Just being optimistic. Like oh something could come out of this season," says senior football player Christopher Frange.
The lawsuit asks that practice be allowed to resume. That would allow the team to play a game next week. The allegations come on the heels of a hazing scandal in Sayreville New Jersey that earned national headlines. Lawyer Rich Luthmann says he thinks that's influenced the way this case is being handled.
"I think this is DOE being idiotic because of what happened in Sayreville. I think I'm sick and tired and I think a lot of other people are sick and tired of this red tape and the hypersensitivity," Luthmann says.
The city's law department says it will review a lawsuit when it is filed, but the players lawyer says he's still hoping an agreement can be reached that would keep the case out of court and get the kids back on the field as soon as possible.