Update #1: Head Shavin' Hazin' Apparently More Than Hockey Tradition at University of Georgia; Article Claims Football Team Does It as Well! Plus: Former Jock Turned Lawyer Claims Head Shavin' Just Can't Be Hazing 'Cause It's Voluntary - We'll get to this legal genius in a minute, but first: Now we know why UGA was so reluctant to make a fuss about the alleged head shaving of some of its freshmen club hockey players. According to an article in OnlineAthens it is also a tradition with the school's highly ranked football team. (It also looks like they're forced eat some kind of fruit or vegetable without a knife and fork. Ewww!)  Well, if we had any doubts that this story would get buried or that the school's vaunted Office of Judicial Programs would call this anything more than "poor decision making" by the players, they are COMPLETELY gone now. At UGA, you don't mess with a Bulldog football tradition and if the school finds the icers guilty, they will have to look closely at the football team as well . . . and that will NEVER happen. Never, ever, ever. (Read about UGA's double standard when it comes to frats and hazing below.) As for our "legal eagle," OnlineAthens talked to local lawyer Kim Stephens, a former UGA offensive lineman, who claimed that the head shaving on the football team was a tradition that's voluntary and shouldn't be considered hazing adding, "You could either do it or not do it." Hold on a minute there Matlock. If that's your best courtroom argument against being convicted in this matter, I might want an attorney who went to another law school, say the U of Florida? A good lawyer would know to read the law first before he opens his yap (in this case, UGA's own policy on hazing) which clearly says "Hazing is defined as any intentional, negligent or reckless action, activity, or situation which causes another [person] pain, embarrassment, ridicule or harassment, regardless of the individual’s willingness to participate." Next Case: The People vs. The University of Georgia for claiming to have a strong anti-hazing policy and then folding like a cheap law chair on a trailer park porch. (AthensOnline)

Head Shavin' Hazin' Update #2: Does The University of Georgia Have a Double Standard When It Comes to Investigating Hazing Incidents? - In our many emails with UGA staff on Tuesday about the alleged incident involving the men's club hockey team (see earlier story below), we were assured that no determination of guilt or innocence--and therefore punishment--could be made until the investigation by the Office of Judicial Programs was completed . . . which could take weeks. Fair enough, but then why, in 2006, did Georgia IMMEDIATELY suspend the Chi Phi Fraternity when members reportedly flashed pictures of nude women to passersby at the Tate Plaza? (Please note: we are not condoning the actions of the Chi Phi, but are interested in UGA's procedures when it comes to disciplining students.) According to an article about the incident in OnlineAthens, "Rodney Bennett, UGA's vice president for student affairs (and coincidentally, the author of their anti-hazing pamphplet), on Friday suspended the fraternity from holding any meetings or social events until student affairs and judicial officers complete their investigation into the incident." So, the school punished the entire frat IMMEDIATELY for the actions of a couple of its members in what was called in some reports a "pledge prank" . . . or as others might call it, hazing the new guys. And, we are aware of no official statement or any press release on the subject being issued by the school, although the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine set its annual Open House for April 4. Yes, it does sound like UGA takes hazing very seriously. (At right is a file photo from a head shaving incident on another college club sports team. In this case, they did not stop at shaving the head, they also drew obscene images on the freshmen's head and fact and make them drink until the puked.)

BadJocks Bonus: Readers Take Us to Task for Head Shavin' Hazin' Story - Okay, we didn't get a flood of emails either for or against hazing, like we have in the past, but we did get one interesting message from Rick Dykstra who tries to compare it to pro sports team all shaving (or not shaving) at the same time:

NO, No, No

What is wrong with head-shaving, many people across the US shave their head. Is it hazing when the Boston Red Sox forego shaving their facial hair, or when the Mets decide to shave their heads. I don't think so, it is a bonding experience a form of solidarity. Cutting ones hair should not be considered a form of hazing. 

Rick DYkstra

Rick, Rick, Rick

Yes, we are well aware that shaved heads are common place these days. But this is not about the loss of hair, it's about power. Ever wonder what happens to an athlete who refuses to participate in a hazing ritual? Just as Akim Aliu, who refused to participate in a hazing drill when he was with the Windsor Spitfires in 2005. The response from older teammate Steve Downie was to blindsidedly cross check him in the face DURING PRACTICE knocking three teeth out. Aliu is so tough though, he didn't notice they were gone until after he pummeled Downie. (You can watch a video of it here.) So, forgive us if we don't see the connection with the Sox or the Mets.

Bob Reno

Reader Sees Story in Local Paper About Head Shaving Incident Involving University of Georgia Club Hockey Team, Asks School "Uh, Excuse Me, But Doesn't That Violate Your Hazing Policy?" 
- We love our readers! One of them came across a story in a local paper that was supposed to be about Scott Friend, a freshman forward and rising star on the University of Georgia club hockey team. Friend (and possibly other freshmen) had their heads shaved as part of a team initiation, something the coach proudly called a "tradition in hockey" and a "rite of passage." (At right, a file photo from a head shaving initiation at another college.) According to Friend, "It's not hazing . . .  It's part of the team bonding," adding, "I'm looking forward to doing this to some (freshmen)." Does that sound familiar to anyone else? It prompted our reader to check the Bulldogs anti-hazing policy. UGA proudly published a pamphlet in the Fall of 2006 called "Hazing at the University of Georgia: What Is It , Why Is It Wrong, & Why Should You Care?" In it, it clearly states that:

Hazing is defined as any intentional, negligent or reckless action, activity, or situation which causes another [person] pain, embarrassment, ridicule or harassment, regardless of the individual’s willingness to participate. Hazing, in any form, is unacceptable and is against federal, state and local law as well as University policy.

Sounds like head shaving--whether Friend agreed to it or not--would be hazing to us . . . and to the experts we eventually contacted about the story. In the meantime, our reader contacted UGA about this apparent conflict with their written policy and received a pretty basic "we're passing this along to the proper authorities" type of response. So, we got involved and sent an email to the pamphlet's author, Dr. Rodney Bennett, Vice President for Student Affairs, to ask a simple question: does head shaving constituted hazing at the University of Georgia? Because in their pamphlet, pretty much everything else one human being could do to another is banned:  

• Forcing or requiring the drinking of alcohol or any other
substance
• Forcing or requiring the eating of food or anything an
individual refuses to eat
• Calisthenics (push-ups, sit-ups, jogging, run, etc.)
• “Treeings” (tying someone up and throwing food or other
substances on them)
• Paddle swats
• Line-ups (yelling at people in any formation or harassing them)
• Forcing or requiring the theft of any property
• Road trips (dropping someone off to find his own way back)
• Scavenger hunts
• Permitting fewer than six (6) continuous, uninterrupted hours of
sleep per night
• Conducting activities which do not allow adequate time for
study (not allowing to go to class, missing group projects, etc.)
• Nudity at any time
• Performing acts of personal servitude (driving to class, cleaning
their individual rooms, serving meals, picking up laundry,
washing cars, etc.)
• Forcing or requiring the violation of University, Federal, State
or local law.

The school refused to answer that question without reviewing the specifics of the case, but did indicate that since a complaint had been filed, the incident will go before their Judicial Programs office, which means it should be investigated. We also asked UGA if they could confirm that the hockey team--because it's only a club sport--went through the school's anti-hazing program and we received this response from Kim Ellis, Associate Dean of Students for Judicial Programs: "an organization's chief officers do go through a program and it must be completed before they are recognized as an organization. If an organization is registered, they have gone through the program." So, apparently somebody associated with the team went through the training, read that entire four page pamphlet and still decided that head shaving was a good idea. Now the real question is whether UGA will stand behind its tough new anti-hazing policy, or will it buckle to time-honored sports traditions and look the other way?