Crime & Safety
Phillipsburg Wrestlers Involved in Controversial Photo Won't Be Charged With Criminal Wrongdoing
An investigation conducted by Warren County Prosecutor Richard T. Burke concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing.
Seven Phillpsburg High School wrestlers who posed for a photo that depicted a lynching will not be charged with any criminal wrongdoing, The Courier Post reports.
In February, the New Jersey Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) forwarded the photo, which shows seven wrestlers, all white, posing with a black tackling dummy wearing a Paulsboro shirt with a noose around his neck to the state Division on Civil Rights for an investigation.
On Thursday, Warren County Prosecutor Richard T. Burke announced the investigation concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing, and that his decision had been cleared with the State Attorney General, according to the report.
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Paulsboro and Phillipsburg are traditional high school wrestling powerhouses in the state, and wrestle annually.
About 85 percent of Phillipsburg’s population is white and about a third of Paulsboro’s residents are black, according to the report.
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The offending wrestlers were banned from participating in this year’s individual state championships.
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