The restrictions imposed by North Arlington on a student athlete accused of second-degree assault on July 6 in Verona will be to the board’s understanding "the most severe of all the schools in question," according to a statement released by the Board of Education.
On July 6, four Verona High School football players, all juveniles at the time, allegedly attacked a 17-year-old West Orange resident and Seton Hall Prep alumnus in the Verona High School parking lot.
Three of the students have since transferred to other schools. One student came to North Arlington while the other two transferred to DePaul Catholic and Bloomfield high schools.
The New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association decided the students were "ineligible" to play sports until Oct. 1. The DePaul Catholic High School student was eligible to play as of last week, according to President Bob Costello. The Bloomfield High School student extended the student’s ineligibility to play sports until Oct. 12.
Verona’s Superintendent Earl Kim did not comment on whether or not the student who remained in Verona played at a Sept. 29 football game.
Restrictions imposed on the student who transferred to North Arlington High School have been added on top of the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association’s restrictions, according to the Board’s statement.
"The Board has acted in the best interest of the North Arlington schools by imposing certain restrictions on participation in athletics for the student in questions and the student body in general," said the release. "The board believes that the restrictions imposed reinforces these requirements and will promote positive behavior in the schools of North Arlington."
On the night of the incident, the victim was talking with other students in the high school parking lot at 11:45 p.m. The four students arrived by car and singled out the victim, unprovoked. Two students then beat the victim with their hands and feet while a third held back friends and witnesses and a fourth, the driver, stood by and watched, according to police.
The victim suffered numerous cuts and back injuries and his supraorbital bone, which surrounds his right eye, was broken in two places, according to police. The victim also lost consciousness several times during the beating. Witnesses and friends brought him to a residence in Verona, where local police and rescue workers transported him to University Hospital in Newark to treat the injuries.
The students have not been convicted of the crime and are still awaiting trial.
