10 football players were disciplined amid the team's run to a state-title game

BYRON — Ten Byron High School football players were disciplined in November after acknowledging that they took part in a naked "Oreo run" at the school's football field.

School administrators concluded that the run — in which players moved across the school's football field with an Oreo wedged between their buttocks — was not an act of hazing. That determination came after interviews with nearly 30 varsity players and all the coaches and a review of dark security video footage. School administrators said the act was voluntary.

“We take any allegations like this very seriously, and we have a system in place to address it,” Byron Superintendent Buster Barton said. “But this had nothing to do with hazing.”

The players were suspended for indecent exposure and forced to sit out of games on Nov. 10, 17 and 23, the last of which was the Class 3A state championship game, documents obtained by the Register Star through the Freedom of Information Act show. In a letter sent to parents about the discipline, the district said the run happened Oct. 26 and school officials learned of it on Nov. 8. Parents were called the next day.

Barton confirmed in an email to the Register Star that 10 players admitted to participating in the run. While it's not clear whether players were suspended in accordance to the letter, it appears that the team's best players did not miss the three playoff games listed, including the state championship game against Monticello, the Tigers only loss of the season.

Read the letter

This form letter, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, was sent to the parents of player's disciplined for indecent exposure.

Head football coach Jeff Boyer declined to comment. Volunteer assistant Sean Considine, a former star on Byron's lone state-title team as well as a former NFL player, said he was comfortable with how the incident was handled by everybody involved.

"There was no thought given to the football season, wins or losses, who are the stars and who’s not, in this entire thing," Considine said. "It was dealt with using an iron fist, and I will stand by all of it.”

Barton said in an email to the Register Star that a parent told one of the coaches about the incident at Everett Stine Stadium.

"The report was promptly relayed to me and I immediately directed that an investigation take place," he said. "(They) interviewed all nine football coaches. They also interviewed nearly 30 members of the varsity football team, many in the presence of one or more parent. They also accessed and examined footage from various security cameras at or near the stadium.”

Byron School Board President Carol Nauman believes the matter was handled professionally and correctly.

“The board was informed right away, and they investigated this to the very best of their ability. I’m confident in that,” Nauman said. “They did everything they could (to protect the kids), and they have worked very hard to get this right.

“As far as making it better for the future, I think that’s going to take some time, but we need to work on that.”

The incident is reminiscent of hazing occasionally depicted in television shows. In the opening episode of the college-football themed comedy "Blue Mountain State," for example, players perform the Oreo run in an episode titled "It's Called Hazing, Look It Up."

If Byron players did cross the line, the Illinois High School Association has no policy for dealing with it, according to assistant executive director Susie Knoblauch,

“It is certainly part of our points of emphasis whenever we talk to the coaches and players around the state, but there are no bylaws for this type of thing,” Knoblauch said. “This kind of thing has been an issue throughout the nation, though, so we are always watching out for ways to keep this away.”

Jay Taft: 815-987-1384; jtaft@rrstar.com; @JayTaft

Investigating hazing

The document below, obtained by the Register Star through a Freedom of Information Act request, provides a synopsis of Byron High School Principal Jay Mullens' notes after interviewing nine coaches about "potential BHS football hazing."