More than 50 concerned parents, friends and organization officials showed up for a special meeting of the Mohawks' youth football and cheering organization Tuesday at Hereford Elementary School to seek answers and share information on a recent event.

                The meeting was somewhat raucous and disorganized as attendees attempted to speak over each other, making it hard for some to follow all of the messages.  But, it seemed to be a sorely needed meeting and gave folks a chance to vent their feelings about the event and seek ways to keep it from happening again.

                According to information obtained at the meeting, back on Oct. 29, one of the Mohawks' coaches, Bob Ruch, who was also the organization's vice president and a member of the board of directors, invited Adam Bednarik to give a "pep talk" to the second-grade youth football team.  The talk took place on the grounds of the Upper Perkiomen School District while other functions were going on in and around the campus.

                Bednarik had a stellar football career at Bethlehem Catholic High School and went on to West Virginia University where injuries hampered his hopes of playing there and in the NFL.

                It was an invitation Bednarik should have declined and/or never been invited to attend, depending on your take of who knew what and when did they know it.

                Bednarik was charged back in May with offenses that include involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, institutional sexual assault, statutory sexual assault, indecent assault and corrupting a minor.  The incident involved a teenage girl.  As a condition to his $50,000 bail, he was barred from contact with minors.  His trial is scheduled for January 2016.

                Bednarik's pep talk lasted about 10 minutes and was held with the group of players in the presence of parents and coaches.  Sometime after the session, one of the mothers was made aware of Bednarik's arrest and notified the Northampton County District Attorney, who was not pleased with the news.

                Last week, Northampton County Judge Michael Koury, Jr. ruled that Bednarik had willfully violated his no-contact order and increased the bail amount from $50,000 to $75,000.  Bednarik posted the required 10 percent to remain free until his court date.

                The news of Bednarik's visit to the Mohawks' camp broke early in November.  On Tuesday night, Mohawks' President Sean O'Donnell announced that as of a board meeting held on Nov. 12, Ruch was no longer vice president or a member of the board.

                Coaches are not named until later and discussion throughout the night lingered on whether or not Ruch would return.  From the tone of the participants, there were supporters of a second chance for Ruch, either as a coach or assistant coach.  Some attendees wanted that decision to be made by the parents in addition to officials.

                O'Donnell also announced that the board agreed to expand their requirements for background checks that currently includes coaches, board members, assistant coaches and team mothers.

                According to some members of the audience who received text messages from Ruch, Ruch was aware of Bednarik's arrest prior to the visit.  The question many pondered was whether he knew about the conditions of Bednarik's bail. 

                In addition to the safety of juveniles on school property at the time, attendees were concerned about the delay in communicating the issue to the parents, the lack of a written procedure for vetting such visitors, what to do about it now, and how to prevent it from happening in the future.

                The meeting was indeed a good chance for all to vent and for team officials to listen.  Many good suggestions were made for vetting visitors and sharing information in a timely manner.

                The Mohawks organization is a good group of volunteers that provides for many youngsters in the community.  As a family, they made a commitment to affect changes that will help prevent bad choices from being made.  They should not be judged on this one lapse which will be remedied, and we need to continue supporting them. 

                O'Donnell closed Monday's meeting by saying, "We as an organization need to stick together for the kids."

                I agree.