Report: Penn State revokes scholarship offer to captain of HS team implicated in sodomy hazing scandal
By RYAN GORMAN
Penn State University has reportedly revoked a scholarship offer to a senior captain on the Sayreville (NJ) War Memorial High School football team in the wake of a hazing scandal.
Star running back Myles Hartsfield verbally committed to Penn State over the summer but had his scholarship offer rescinded after seven Sayreville players were arrested for sodomizing freshman football players.
The school immediately cancelled the remainder of the season.
The names of those arrested have not been made public because they are minors, but Sayreville Police squad cars were seen at his home Friday night as other players were brought into custody, according to NJ.com, which characterized Hartsfield as "the center of police activity."
"The Penn State coaching staff has decided to part ways [with] Myles Hartsfield," the Penn State recruiting site for Rivals.com announced Monday.
University spokesperson Jeff Nelson told AOL News: "It would not be appropriate for Penn State to comment on this matter."
An attempt to clarify whether the school revoked Hartsfield's scholarship offer was not immediately responded to by Nelson.
College coaches are prohibited by the NCAA from discussing recruits until they sign a letter of intent, but it is not clear if a university spokesperson is bound to the same rule under the circumstances Hartsfield has reportedly found himself in.
Penn State is sensitive to the issue of sex abuse involving underage boys after the 2012 conviction on 45 counts of former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
School administrators were found out to have been aware of the abuse for more than a decade but opted to cover it up instead of notifying the authorities.
The scandal led to the vacating of hundreds of wins, postseason play in bowl games and scholarships from the program. Legendary coach Joe Paterno was fired from the school in disgrace and then died only months later from lung cancer.
Hartsfield has not been publicly named by New Jersey authorities, but it is not inconceivable that a school with such a recent history would not want to risk reopening wounds by bringing Hartsfield into the fold.
The six-foot, 190-pound prospect was also recruited by Georgia Tech, Pitt, Purdue, Rutgers, Wake Forest, West Virginia, and more, according to NJ.com.
Hartsfield was once ranked the 28th-best high school football player in the nation. His future in the game has never been more uncertain.
Related links:
Future of football team rocked by hazing unclear
7 charged in high school football hazing case
New Jersey school cancels football season
