High school football coach resigns amid ‘No Gay Thursday’ hazing

BERWYN, Pa. — A high school football coach in suburban Philadelphia has resigned amid accusations that three senior football players sexually assaulted a freshman on what the team called “No Gay Thursday.”

Three 17-year-old Conestoga High School students face charges that they held down a 14-year-old boy in October and penetrated him with a broom handle.

Prosecutors say they have no evidence the coaching staff knew of the team’s hazing culture. But school district officials said Thursday the locker rooms had “an insufficient adult presence” that created an environment where hazing could occur. The district said in a letter that longtime head football coach John Vogan has resigned and that the varsity and junior-varsity football staff have been relieved of coaching duties.

Conestoga is among the most highly ranked schools academically in Pennsylvania.