PLEASE NOMINATE MIKE BUCK TO THE SAYVILLE ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME BY JANUARY 1ST – IT’S AN IDEA WHOSE TIME HAS COME

Nominate Mike by 1/1/25 here: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSeeQdr4yASZus…/viewform

We have until January 1st to right a historic wrong. Sayville Football is a storied program. That isn’t just because of our winning tradition. Sayville Football has shaped the lives and futures of generations of players. Now playing in the Canadian Football league, for example, we are eager to see Jack Coan (17′) earn a spot on an NFL roster. That day will come!

 

We’re also proud of Jamie LaBelle (SHS 79′) who made it on an NFL roster. His knee injury as the lone captain of Hofstra Football made it impossible for him to play. Then there’s Dave Gardi (SHS 88′). My quarterback, Dave played for Brown University and was the #4 executive for the NFL for many years. He just left that position to run the front office for the Washington Commanders.

 

But there is only 1 Sayville Football player—yes, that’ right, only 1– who actually played in the NFL. His name is Mike Buck (SHS 1985). Shockingly, Mike Buck is not in the Sayville High School Hall of Fame. He should be.

 

The Sayville High School Hall of Fame is now in the hands of talented Athletic Director, Ryan Cox. That means there will be a vigorous, committee-based induction process. Above all else, that process will be fair. It will be objective.

 

To me, Mike’s exclusion from the Hall of Fame thus far suggests a lack of true vetting process. It also suggests a lack of fairness. One individual’s perspective on the worthiness of one of our most accomplished athletes can no longer stand.

 

One also needs to consider, not just Mike’s exceptional career, but also how many athletes Mike has coached, how many young men he helped to understand the true meaning of teamwork. Mike took over as head coach at McGann-Mercy High School in Riverhead in 2014, a couple years before it closed. Mike Buck is now a teacher who made Walt Whitman HS a winning football program as a coach.

 

If I were Mike, being the center of attention might lead me to decline the invitation. Mike always has that right.

 

Yet his induction would not be just about Mike. It would be important for his family to know how proud we all for him. It’s important for all us. It’s important for the many generations of former players, and the future ones, to right this historic wrong.

 

I’ll close out with a question: can the Sayville Athletic Hall of Fame have its fullest meaning, be what it professes to be, if Mike Buck isn’t in it? I don’t think so. I hope you agree.

Please nominate Mike Buck for the Sayville Athletic Hall of Fame by 1/1/25 here: https://docs.google.com/…/1FAIpQLSeeQdr4yASZus…/viewform

Post prepared by the Sayville Football Alumni Association