Sachem schools chief apologizes at board meeting for offensive signs at game vs. William Floyd

Sachem schools Superintendent Patti Trombetta opened Wednesday evening's board meeting by apologizing to the William Floyd High School community after Sachem students at a home football game Friday evening reportedly held up offensive signs directed at the visiting team.

Reading from a prepared statement, Trombetta said the signs and the students' behavior "do not align with the respect and sportsmanship we expect from our student body."

On Tuesday night, Trombetta, in a letter to Sachem school district parents and guardians, expressed regret to the William Floyd community on behalf of the district for the students' actions.

"As a Sachem community," the superintendent said in both statements, "we sincerely apologize to the William Floyd community for any hurt caused."

The New York Post first reported that the signs had crudely referenced the girlfriends of William Floyd High football players. 

Among those in attendance Wednesday evening was Lauren Muqattash, who said she had two sons, ages 10 and 14, enrolled in Sachem schools. Muqattash told Newsday that if her children ever behaved in the manner on display at the Sachem High School North stadium on Friday evening, she would be "absolutely livid."

Muqattash, as a William Floyd High graduate raising two Sachem district students, said it seemed as though her two hometowns were suddenly "pitted against" one another. She added that the players and girls targeted by the signs were "completely failed from the top down by the adults in this situation," including administration and parents in attendance at the game.

"I am mortified and embarrassed to say that my child goes to Sachem right now," Muqattash, 43, of Ronkonkoma, told Newsday. "It paints the entire community in a negative light."

When she addressed the school board during the public comments portion of the meeting, Muqattash called for the suspension of the Sachem students who wielded the signs. The board did not respond to her comments.

After Trombetta read the statement to begin the sparsely attended meeting, neither she nor anyone else on the board commented about the signs or what, if any, discipline the offending students could face.

In her letter, the superintendent said: "It is our responsibility to support our students while holding them accountable for their actions and helping them understand the impact of their choices."

She added, "Moving forward, we will continue to reinforce the vital importance of sportsmanship, respect, and responsibility."

Trombetta did not respond to a voicemail left at her office Wednesday, and a Sachem school district spokesperson, Chris Vaccaro, wrote in an email that "the district has no additional comment or information to share." A spokesperson for the William Floyd school district did not respond to a request for comment.

The spectator code of conduct for Section XI, the governing body for interscholastic sports in Suffolk County, encourages "wholesome cheering" but prohibits "taunting, foul and abusive language ... disrespectful signs and behavior are not acceptable." Violators are subject to eviction from the game site.

The code also recommends that member districts "communicate with each other ... relative to the possible occurrence of a problem" and "follow up in the case of an incident." 

Sachem's own code asks spectators to "demonstrate common sense" and attend games not to "intimidate or ridicule, but to support and enjoy the competition."

In a phone interview, Section XI executive director Tom Combs said he had spoken to athletic directors for both schools but that section officials did not intervene directly, as they would had the incident occurred in a playoff game overseen by the section. 

Combs said school officials at the game responded rapidly, including a Sachem principal who ran into the stands where the signs were displayed.

In general, schools "do a phenomenal job of curtailing negative behavior in a timely manner" and the bad behavior does not appear to be on the rise, he said.

"It happens, unfortunately — we've had rude people all along," he said.