Lakewood Football Players Charged With Armed Robberies

On the heels of multiple recent incidents involving high school athletes facing legal trouble, four Lakewood High School football players are facing charges for multiple armed robberies.

In an e-mail, the Lakewood School District said as part of a Memorandum of Agreement with law enforcement “a statement will not be made until the criminal investigation is completed.”

Players involved in legal battles is something fans of the National Football League and other professional sports organizations are used to seeing, but Ocean Township sports attorney Anthony Caruso said what we’re seeing in the pros is trickling down to the high school ranks.

“It’s a growing problem and I think schools have to be very strict in these kinds of situations.”

The official playing status of the four Lakewood players has not been released.

Unlike professional leagues – which have official rules on how salary and suspensions are handled during criminal investigations- the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association gives individual districts more autonomy to handle those matters.

For student athletes in the midst of a criminal investigation (and are presumed innocent) missing playing time equates to losing athletic eligibility-especially if they are found to be innocent.

However, Caruso said school districts are generally protected in their decisions to remove a student athlete from a team provided they conduct their own disciplinary review.

“Keep in mind the high school athlete forgoes some rights that the pro athlete will have. When you’re on a high school campus, you’re not subject to a typical search warrant for your locker. So there are things in high school that an athlete cannot veil himself under situations like in the pros or in college,” said Caruso.

While gifted athletes being granted leeway for legal infractions is nothing new, Caruso said he is seeing more seriousness being given to punishing offenders.

“Because of the fact that the NFL is under fire, I think the public is starting to realize that there is an issue here.”