ANDOVER — Andover High freshmen would be barred from playing varsity basketball, football, baseball and other sports under a proposed new athletic policy. The policy is part of an effort to change the school’s sports “culture” in the wake of last summer’s hazing scandal. Interim Principal Thomas Sharkey said the proposed new athletic policy emphasizes the growth and development of students. Sharkey said the policy barring freshman from many varsity teams might “draw some conversation from the community.” “I think the counter argument will be we want to have the best team on the floor or on the field,” Sharkey said. “I’m taking a contrarian point of view on that, I am saying I don’t think it is just about having a winning team — it is about using athletics to help promote growth.” McGrath said some parents might also argue that because they had invested in their children’s athletic development from an early age, the children deserve a shot at a varsity team. Sharkey said the varsity rule is meant to make sure freshmen are around their peers during their first year at a new school. “We are really finding it difficult to have 14- and 15-year-olds spending four months of their year outside of school with 18-year-olds who are engaged in all sorts of different types of activities,” Sharkey said. “I would hope the community will see the spirit of our proposal and understand that we are talking about developmental stages and protecting our youngest people, especially the vulnerable time of ninth grade.”

This is kind of a fascinating look into how school administrators think. Listen nobody is denying that what happened in Andover was flat gross. Bros jerking off on oreo cookies and eating it is nasty nasty nasty shit. But how does not letting Freshman play varsity sports solve anything or have anything to do with this? I think kids got the message when the police got involved and bros got expelled from school. Like if that’s not gonna stop hazing than nothing will. This is just a classic overreaction by the school. It’s not enough just to punish the kids who did it and make it clear that hazing won’t be tolerated. Instead they got to force feed down people’s throats their own moral beliefs that 15 year olds shouldn’t spend 4 months playing sports with 18 year olds even though it happens in every school in America.  Suddenly Andover is smarter than everybody else because a couple kids jizzed on Oreos. Give me a break.   If a kid is good enough to play varsity as a frosh like I was let him play.