So a lot of you are wondering what Charlie Nelson has to say about the Sayreville football scandal. At least, maybe one or two of you are wondering. If you don't know what scandal I'm talking about, do a news search for Sayreville and you will find all the sordid details. I won't rehash it here.

Charley Nelson (that's me) is remembering many years back when he moved to a small, Midwestern town with a population a bit less than 1000. At that time the biggest source of pride for this town was their girls high school basketball team. They were one of the top teams in the state, eventually winning a state title one year.

The first time I went to one of the games I went a bit early to catch the junior varsity game as well. And I could not believe what I saw. Or actually, I could not believe what I heard. A barrage of obscenities from the fans rained down upon these girls every time one of them made a mistake. "Get your head out of your f------ ass!" was one of the kinder phrases. Some of these girls facing this abuse were as young as 13 years old!

After the game I talked to a few people, voicing my concern about such behavior. One woman told me "Charley, the language is rough, but remember: These girls will be our varsity team in a couple years!"

Now, you're wondering what in the world this has to do with Sayreville. I will tell you. We as a society have lost our perspective when it comes to school sports.

If you really know Charley Nelson, you know I'm a guy who loves sports. There's nothing better on a Friday night, after a long week of work, than coming home, popping open a couple beers and watching a good game on TV. But all things in moderation. A couple beers; not a couple six packs. And professional sports, not some high school kids. Seriously. Perspective.

When adults think it's okay to yell obscenities at a 13 year old girl because she made a bad pass, something is out of whack in our society. When high school boys think it's just fine to commit sexual assaults because "Hey, I'm a football player and coach will fix it," then something is out of whack in our society. When parents of these kids are more concerned with the lost football games than the sexual assaults, something is out of whack in our society.

Our schools need to return to being schools instead of being minor league sports franchises. Superintendent Richard Labbe, pull the plug on football in Sayreville for good. You'll anger a lot of people, but in the end you'll have better schools.