Hazing Incident Could Cost Canadian Women's Soccer Team Entire Season

They called it a "team bonding party" but in the end the booze was flowing and then some inappropriate activities took place. Now, the women's soccer team at Carleton University in Ontario, Canada will be suspended for several games and could lose the rest of their season. Too harsh? We doubt there will be another hazing incident at this school for years, if this punishment stands up.

The Carleton University Ravens women’s soccer team will forfeit its next two games — and potentially the entire season — following a rookie hazing incident last weekend.

A player's parent approached first-year coach Alex McNutt this week with allegations of alcohol abuse and inappropriate behaviour at a team bonding party hosted by one of the senior players on Sunday. According to reports, the party also included a “rookie initiation” incident.

McNutt brought the issue forward with the school’s athletic directors on Wednesday. On Friday afternoon, Jennifer Brenning, Carleton’s director of recreation and athletics, handed down the suspension. Brenning said the entire team will be suspended following a “serious breach” of both the university’s and the athletic department’s code of conduct.

The team will forfeit two upcoming weekend games — against the University of Toronto and Ryerson University — and will remain suspended pending an internal investigation. Brenning said the forfeiture of the entire season — which was the fallout of a disturbing hazing incident at McGill University that made national headlines in 2005 — remains a potential consequence.

Carleton soccer team suspended over hazing | Ottawa and Region | News | Ottawa Sun

UGA Showing Double Standard on Hazing Again? Frat Pledge Squeals After Arrest

Readers of BadJocks will remember an incident from 2008 where we took the University of Georgia to task over what appeared to us to be a double standard when it came to investigating hazing incidents on campus. If you're on a sports team, don't worry, it appears, but if you're in a fraternity or sorority, look out we're takin' you boys down! Please note: we're not condoning hazing by either Greeks or jocks. But we do want to make sure that a university which boasts about its tough anti-hazing policy actually follows through in ALL cases, not just the ones (like our pal Ry below) that are obvious or easy to prove.

Last year, we pointed out incidents on both the CLUB hockey team (the school reminded us several times it wasn't an NCAA sport, as if that made any difference in the way their policy was implimented) and the Bulldogs football team. We even had pictures and real newspaper reports to help them start their investigations, but . . . nothing. Last time a frat appeared to violate the anti-hazing policy, UGA shut them down immediately while the investigation was underway. The hockey and football teams? Yeah, right.

So now we have a new test of the University of Georgia anti-hazing policy: will the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity get the typical "sports team" treatment or will it be put on double-secret probation immediately? Stay tuned.

Oh, and for the record: ratting out your frat brothers because get get arrested for puking in a cab is no way to go through life, son!

An 18-year-old University student, who said members of his fraternity made him drink, plans to pursue hazing charges against the fraternity, according to an Athens-Clarke County Police report. Ry Thomas Mercado, a pledge at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity according to the police report, was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol early Thursday morning after vomiting in a taxi and refusing to pay.

When the arresting officer found Mercado, he noticed two IDs in Mercado's wallet. When asked about the second ID, Mercado said he found it on the floor of Bourbon Street bar. Because Mercado was too young to be admitted into the bar, the officer asked him how he got inside to obtain the second ID. Mercado then explained the ID belonged to a fraternity member.

Eric Atkinson, assistant to the vice president of student affairs, said his office runs several anti-hazing programs with the IFC and held two programs in August. "Hazing is something that we always take seriously across the board," he said. "It's something that we work really hard to educate our students about."

Arrested pledge alleges fraternity hazing (w/police report) - News

Suma Master Could Get Seven Years in Jail for Hazing

Sumo hazing? Sumo hazing? Really?

I suppose, considering the crazy things they do on Japanese TV, we should not be surprised at this. Although I did think that sumo wrestling was always a dignified sport . . . except for the part where they hire young boys to serve as official butt wipers for the guys too fat to reach around for themselves. But OTHER THAN THAT, sumo seemed above all the usual sports crap. But no, hazing is apparently as much a part of this sport as any. Here's more from Japan Today:

Prosecutors on Tuesday demanded seven years in prison for a former sumo elder accused of ordering wrestlers at his stable to assault a 17-year-old grappler who later died from related injuries. During hearings at the Nagoya District Court in the high-profile case that has marred Japan’s national sport, Junichi Yamamoto, 59, apologized to the relatives of the victim, Takashi Saito, over the 2007 incident in Aichi Prefecture, but denied giving an order to assault him.

The case has already seen three other wrestlers in the stable convicted in a separate trial. According to the indictment, Yamamoto beat Saito with a beer bottle and ordered the wrestlers to hit him on June 25, 2007. On the following day, they also subjected Saito to what they called ‘‘exercise’’ for about 30 minutes, slamming him on the sumo ring and hitting him with a metal bat. Saito later died from shock as a result of multiple trauma.

Coach Resigns After Hazing Allegations Surface: Girls Force to Swim Naked in Pool

Our second hazing report this week and again, not the worst hazing we've ever heard of, but another one of those that makes you wonder if coaches--especially HS coaches--get it.

This time we have a softball team at a motel on spring break and--allegedly--the freshmen were forced into the pool and then told to take off some of their clothes. They had to remain there for 5 to 10 minutes. The coach allegedly approved the "team building activity" and now she's out of a job and the school is split over whether this was hazing or not. Based on some of the comments posted below the story, it sounds like no one is even sure of the facts. Here's more from WATE:

Anderson County High School head softball coach Heather Branum has resigned from her coaching position Monday while she was under investigation for a possible hazing incident. The incident in question happened while the team was in Myrtle Beach playing in a spring break tournament.

According to Principal Greg Deal, before she resigned, Branum was suspended for five games, or about two weeks. Along with coaching softball, Branum is also a special education teacher at the high school. She hasn't been suspended from teaching.

6 News spoke Monday with the parent of one of the girls on the softball team. According to the parent, the hazing was directed at freshmen on the team who were forced by teammates to get undressed and remain in a swimming pool for 10 minutes.
The parent also says Branum watched the incident and threatened the girls with running laps if they told others about the incident.

In her resignation letter, Branum writes:

"It is with my deepest regret that I submit my resignation as the Head Coach of the Anderson County Softball team. During a recent spring break trip, an event occurred that I am extremely sorry that I allowed to happen and I take full responsibility. I would never do anything to put my team in harm's way or embarrass my team. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for any of my girls if they needed me. In the past two years, I've learned a lot about how hard it is to be a coach in today's environment and I am still learning. Please accept this letter of resignation with my sincerest apologies."

Hazing or Not Hazing? Girls on Soccer Team Forced to Eat Dog Food

And no, this is not the worst thing we have ever heard of when it comes to hazing. One of the stupidest? Maybe . . . especially when you consider that--according to reports--both the coach and a parent were there when this happened. Other players claim it was a "team-building exercise" (where have we heard that before?) while the 14-year-old victim's family says it was unnecessarily humiliating. Before you dismiss this one though, keep in mind that in Nebraska where this incident took place the legal definition of hazing includes "forced consumption of any food, liquor, beverage, drug or harmful substance not generally intended for human consumption." The story also quotes our good friend and hazing expert Dr. Susan Lipkins who--once again--points out that just because the victims of hazing appear to be having a good time while it's happening, that may not really be the case. And the willingness to participate does NOT allow the hazers to escape punishment. Here's more from The Omaha World Herald:

It was billed as an event to help competitive, driven soccer players bond as teammates. It ended with a 14-year-old girl quitting the team in humiliation after being pressured to eat dog food. Her parents are questioning whether the team-building exercise actually was hazing.

Some other parents described it as silly fun, but the president of the Gladiator Soccer Club said the incident was "totally inappropriate" and has led to discussion about new rules targeting hazing. Such incidents are not uncommon, a national hazing expert said, and grow out of a mistaken belief that they help team members grow closer.

"Hazing goes on every single day," said Susan Lipkins, a psychologist for more than 20 years based in Port Washington, N.Y. "There is a myth that hazing builds teams, and it doesn't." Lori and James Gigantelli's daughter felt she would be ostracized if she didn't eat the dog treat. So she put it in her mouth. She was ordered to chew it up and swallow it. When no one was looking, she spit it out.

"I truly think the intent was for team bonding and to get these girls together, but it was done with poor judgment," said Lori Gigantelli. "It was an act of humiliation. It was wrong."

Harlan Milder, president of the select soccer league, said that because of the incident the coach is being supervised by the club's director of coaching. The coach was present during the incident, along with a parent who organized the event.

At least two other parents of team members said they didn't consider the incident hazing. The girls "were laughing and chuckling about it," said Joni Brunssen. "I know hazing is a bad thing but, honestly, I never associated what they did with that." Pete Hanika agreed. "It was just girls being silly. . . . It wasn't a big deal at all."

Crazy Hazing Days are Back! Three New Sports Initiations to Report

In many parts of the country it's cold outside, which means young people are spending more time INDOORS where, apparently, the coolest thing to do is hazing your teammates and friends. In one case we see the return of teabagging (rubbing one's junk on another male's face) in another we had someone go to the hospital, and in the third, several faculty members have been suspended for failing to report an incident. Now for the details:

It's Teabagging Time in Indiana! - Five male students at Greensburg Junior High School (four eighth graders and a seventh grader) have been suspended for their part in an "inappropriate hazing-style incident" that occurred sometime before Christmas. According to a source, the teens were suspended after an internal investigation revealed that members of the basketball team held down at least one other teammate down while other players sat on them in nothing but their underwear--or less--and then "slapped the restrained boy in the face with their genitalia." How'd you like to have that on your permanent record? (Greensburg Daily News) Thanks to Swingbelly for the link!

LAPD Looking to HS Hazing After Staff Fail to Report Incidents - Details are still sketchy, but at least six STAFF members at Taft High School (Los Angeles) were reportedly transferred to non-school-based jobs this week while an investigation continued into alleged hazing incidents involving members of the boy's volleyball team. Why the transfers? The alleged incidents reportedly happened a while back and the adults involved failed to report them. Oops! And now the cops are involved, so we fully expect to hear more about this one. (MSNBC)

Aggie Corps Hazing Returns! - Two Texas A&M cadets have been arrested and charged with hazing in connection with an incident that allegedly happened last semester. According to police, an Aggie sophomore claims he suffered internal injuries after he was pulled out of a Corps activity and taken to Spencer Park where--we're not making this up!--he asked to perform seven different physical exercises for nearly two hours.

Two days later he was still in pain--no sh*t!--and went to the hospital where he received "invasive treatment" for his injuries (we're assuming that means surgery or some kind of anal probe.) The attackers claim the victim was just "being disciplined for not following Corps standards and conduct" but the group itself says that corrective physical exercise for minor offenses are limited to push -ups, sit-ups, and flutter kicks and must also be administered in the hallway of corps dorms, or on the corps quad. (KBTX)

Back in 2003 we reported on a series of hazing incidents involving parts of the Corps, a male quasi-cheerleading group for the Aggies:

Texas A&M Corps Hazing Incident Bitterly Divides College - Earlier this year, BadJocks proclaimed the Aggie school "The Hazing Capital of the World" after the latest of several incidents involving cadets was reported. The latest one involves spankings with an ax handle, but there have been plenty of others over the past few years: Last year, photos of members of its Corps of Cadets stripped naked and bound with duct tape were found, although no charges were filed because it was "consensual'. (see image below) The crown jewel, of course, was when junior members of the Corps--who shoot off the school's cannon at football games--were accused of hazing sophomores by dousing them with "URINE AND HORSE FECES."

Yeah, that looks consensual to us. After seeing that, it makes you wonder why hazing is still a problem on the A&M campus. Hmm . . .

MSNBC Disses HS Swim Team Over Hazing Story

The guys on the Deerfield High School's swim team have been suspended from the squad amid hazing allegations. The swimmers and their parents are claiming that the incident is just part of a "team tradition" while the administration says it was hazing, pure and simple. They boys say it's little more than a game of late nigh "tag" with younger swimmer throwing toilet paper at one house, and then being "kidnapped: by older swimmers and driven to a second house and released.

Yes, that's what they say they do to initiation new swimmers. Hilarious, isn't it?

We're still waiting for details to make our Hazing-No Hazing call, but apparently the folks at MSNBC don't think very highly of swimming as a sport . . . as evidenced by the photo (see screen capture below) with the story: unless we're mistaken, those look like the legs of young women and we're pretty sure that's synchronized swimming, not the 200 meter medley relay. We've asked MSNBC for an explanation, but so far have not received one.

Any other explanations?

Arizona State Lacrosse Team Has Season Suspended for Hazing

Details people, details! All we know at this point is something happened on the ASU men's lacrosse team, the school found out and handed them the death penalty: the school suspended the team until August 2009, the put it on a two year probation. All of this--allegedly--stems from a hazing and underage drinking incident earlier this year.

Anyone have more details? Drop us an email at BadJocks at Yahoo.com!

Yukon Soccer Association Suspends Three Teens Over Hazing Allegations

Okay, not the worst sports hazing we have ever heard of--being in covered with plastic wrap and having messages written on you by the players--but in Canada? We thought this kind of stuff only happened in the good ol' USA, Hazing Capitol of the World. Maybe this is one American export Canada would rather do without. Here's more from the White Horse Star:

The Yukon Soccer Association is preparing to deal with an appeal launched by some of the families of the under-14 players that were hazed back in October at an outside tournament. The appeal is in regard to the association’s investigation and findings in the matter where three players were humiliated in front of fellow teammates.

Concluding the investigation, which was completed in November, three players were suspended for an undisclosed period of time for their involvement in the hazing incidents that occurred while the team attended a national championship in Charlottetown. The suspended players were also required to apologize for their actions.

The YSA has formed an independent panel to help deal with the appeal process. “It’s not just about YSA or myself finding resolution, it’s about the families finding resolution,” said Johnny Nunan, president of the Yukon Soccer Association “The perfect outcome for me would be if all three kids (that were hazed) were playing soccer again.”

The hazing occurred late at night. Some of it involved being covered with plastic wrap and having messages written on the players. Nunan, who was appointed as president a couple weeks ago, said the appeal was filed in December and the YSA was hoping to deal with it then. “We were going to have another meeting with the parents in the beginning of December, but we were advised by the councillors involved that the families weren’t ready.”

He said he can’t discuss what parents want, but added the soccer association will respect the panel’s final decision.

High School Wrestling Hazing Leaves Five Suspended, Coach Removed

These hazing cases get national headlines, school work hard to enforce tough policies, but they just keep on happening, don't they? The latest case comes to us from Thomas Stone High School (Maryland) where five wrestlers have not only been suspended from the team, but the coach has now also been removed for the rest of the season. Once again, the incident happened on a team bus coming back from a meet late at night with--apparently--not enough adult supervision. Details below are from the Washington Post's report, but my favorite part is from one of the suspended wrestlers, Zachary Lohr, who said--after getting caught--that "Every sport I've played in high school, something like this has happened. It happened to me and another kid on the wrestling team last year."

Five Thomas Stone varsity wrestlers have been charged by the Charles County Sheriff's Office with misdemeanor hazing for their involvement in an incident on the team bus last month. All five have been suspended from school indefinitely, and first-year coach Michael Larson has been removed from his position for at least the remainder of the season.

While returning from a match at Great Mills on Jan. 20, several wrestlers taped the arms and legs of a teammate to a bus seat, then took pictures and teased him, said senior Zachary Lohr, one of the suspended wrestlers. The coach became aware of the activity in the back of the bus when the driver turned on the overhead light, Lohr said.

Larson, who did not return calls seeking comment, immediately demanded that the victim be untaped and warned the rest of the team that punishments would follow. "We take hazing very seriously," Charles County Public Schools spokeswoman Katie O'Malley-Simpson said. "Hazing falls under what we consider harassment, bullying . . . or anything that humiliates, teases, injures or potentially injures another student."

The wrestlers have been suspended from school indefinitely since Jan. 23, the same day they were charged as juveniles by the Charles County Sheriff's Office. Charles County Public Schools Superintendent James E. Richmond is expected to decide by tomorrow if the students will be allowed to return to school.

"We were just joking around," Lohr said. "We weren't trying to hurt him. Every sport I've played in high school, something like this has happened. It happened to me and another kid on the wrestling team last year."

Hazing Shocker! Former Robertson HS Football Player Pleads Guilty to Sodomizing Younger Players With Broom Handle

This all started last summer, when members of the Robertson High School football team from Las Vegas, New Mexico were at one of those week-long overnight football camps. An alleged hazing incident happened and a complaint was filed. Almost immediately players were suspended, and the new head coach and his entire staff resigned. But, like most hazing incidents, school officials tried to downplay the seriousness of the incident, including District Superintendent Rick "There's Nothing to See Here" Romero who admitted at the time that there was an allegation from at least one young football player that he was pinned down and sodomized with a broomstick . . . . but that it now appears to be mostly false. "Mostly false?" At the time we were curious as to how that worked when you had a broomstick near your anus, but we took old Rick at his word. That is, until this week, when one of the upperclassmen on the RHS football team admitted in court that, yes indeed, he did try to sodomize some younger players and was willing to testify against five other players who are also heading to trial.

Here's more on the story from KRQE:

As part of a plea agreement Jarek Padilla will not be sentenced as an adult. He also could be called to testify against five former teammates who still face charges from the August incident.Padilla pleaded guilty as a minor to charges of rape and conspiracy.
The hazing, alleged to include older players sodomizing younger ones with a broom handle, happened at an out-of-town camp. New Mexico State Police were waiting when the team returned to Las Vegas by bus.
Padilla's surprise plea came at the start of a preliminary hearing for the accused teens. The hearing is being held in Santa Fe after prosecutors in Las Vegas handed the case to another jurisdictions because of conflicts of interest.
When the hearing began, the boys on the team who say they were assaulted by the six, gave emotional testimony as they described what they said happened to them.
The first witness, a sophomore, claimed the first attack started when he and a junior taunted each other through a cabin wall. Other witnesses called it trash talk over girlfriends.
The sophomore said four defendants came after him, and witnesses said they tried and failed to prevent the attack on led by defendant Michael Gallegos.
"He went back outside for a minute, and then he went back in," the sophomore witness testified. "He was holding a broomstick, and Lucas Martinez held him down in the top bunk. "That's when they assaulted him."

Hazing Returns to Mepham High School? Athlete Denies Inappropriate Touching Charge

Anybody else remember the Mepham HS football hazing from 2003? Sure you do: a number of older members of the football team tried to shove various items (golf balls, pine cones and a broom handle) into the rectums of younger players at an overnight summer camp. That incident lead to all sorts of arrests and resignations at the school and a clamp down on any kind of sports hazing . . . until now.

Just last week, Antoine Saunders, 18, a junior at Mepham, pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor charge after being accused of inappropriately touching a younger student in a locker room as their team was showering. The sport Saunders played has not been identified. The victim, 14, claims Saunders pushed him into a locker "for the purpose of degrading him."

In court, Saunders pleaded not guilty to the charges, then left the courtroom with a worker from the group home where he lives. He said nothing to reporters as he left, but Saunders did take the time to make an obscene gesture to photographers. Classy!

Sounds like Mepham High School needs to dust off the anti-hazing program. (NewsDay)

"Human Semen Hazing" Update: Parents Sue Everybody

Some of you might recall the story from 2006 of the four football players for Fairhaven High School (MA) who were arrested for hazing a younger teammate at a football camp. Yes, we do cover a lot of hazings on this site, but we're pretty sure if you read this story, you'll remember it: among other things, the older players were accused of throwing a cup of HUMAN SEMEN on the victim. NOW you remember that one, don't you? Here's our original report on that story. According to that report, the first night the older boys put Ben Gay on the victim's testicles and the second day they tried to duct tape him to a bed. When he resisted, they threw the semen on him.
Ultimately, four Fairhaven players were charged with hazing and assault; two as adults and two as juveniles. Those charged as adults pleaded guilty to two counts of each.
But now, the parents of the victim, Matthew Marujo, who was physically and sexually abused by fellow football teammates (who also videotaped the abuse) have filed a lawsuit against, well, it seems like everyone:

• Robert Baldwin, superintendent of the Fairhaven School District.
• Dana Almeida, the director of Camp Wishbone at the time of the hazing and a former Fairhaven football coach.
• Chris Foster, the head coach of the high school's football team at the time of the incident.
• Mr. Foster resigned from that position shortly after the Camp Wishbone incident but returned to coaching this year as Fairhaven's indoor track coach.
• Scott Francis, the school's athletic director.
• Jean Cote, the former principal who took a medical leave from his position at the start of the 2007-08 school year and later left the district.
• The Fairhaven School Committee.
• The town of Fairhaven.
• Camp Wishbone, a summer football camp attended by students from Fairhaven and other districts

Here's more from SouthCoastToday:

The family of the Fairhaven High School student victimized in the Camp Wishbone hazing incident filed suit Friday in federal court, seeking compensation for the serious physical and emotional injuries caused by the town's and other individuals' alleged actions.
"As a direct and proximate result of the defendants' negligence, the plaintiffs suffered physical injuries, indignities, humiliation, severe emotional distress, mental anguish and invasion of bodily integrity," stated the complaint, filed on behalf of the Marujo family by their attorneys.
According to the complaint, the defendants' actions — and their failures to act — allowed the hazing to happen, thus causing Matthew and his family to suffer emotionally and physically.
In addition to claims of negligence, the complaint alleges some defendants inflicted emotional distress on Matthew, both negligently and intentionally. "It was intentional; it was extreme; it was outrageous conduct beyond negligence," Ms. Rajaniemi-Gregg said of the alleged behavior that led to the latter claim. "Not that they did it on purpose, but it was more purposeful."
Finally, the complaint alleges Steven and Denise Marujo have lost "their son's consortium," that the hazing incident changed Mr. and Mrs. Marujo's relationship with their son and that they are entitled to compensation for that loss.
"Matthew as their son during that time was not the son he had been," said Ms. Rajaniemi-Gregg. "The relationship that they had with Matthew before the incident was different than what their relationship was after the incident."

High School Basketball Coach, Seven Players Arrested Over Hazing Incident

It's bad enough when the kids get caught hazing one another, but when the coach allegedly knows about what happened and tries to cover it up . . . well, that just makes things a whole lot worse. Regular readers at BadJocks know that we are of the opinion that more coaches know about hazing on their teams than admit to it, so this doesn't come as a big surprise to us. Details are still scarce, but it sounds like the charges the players are facing--misdemeanor hazing and sexual battery--indicate to us someone was either teabagging, or shoving something where the sun don't shine. Either way, is this how you make me want to be your teammate? Anyone want to explain that to me? Oh, and according to the cops, it sounds like the attackers videotaped this incident and wanted to post it on YouTube. Genius!

Here's some details from MyFox Atlanta:

A high school basketball coach and seven of his varsity players were arrested for an alleged hazing incident at Chapel Hill High School in Douglas County. The players are charged with sexual battery and the coach is accused of trying to keep the hazing quiet. Coach Jim Gaylor was charged with obstruction, while his players were charged with misdemeanor hazing and sexual battery. Three of the players were charged as adults.

Morton Ranch Cheerleader Hazing Update: Pair Placed on Diversion Plan

Remember the cheerleader hazing case from last fall where girls on the JV squad were rounded up by the older girls, driven to one girl's home and then thrown into a swimming pool while blindfolded and their hands bound. Yeah, the parents of some of the victims were not so happy. If we're not mistaken, six or seven members of the varsity squad were suspended from school and then arrested on hazing charges. For two of them, the legal system is going to give them a slap on the wrist, allowing them to go on with their lives without a criminal record. Does that sound like a good compromise? Here's more from The Katy Times:

Two Morton Ranch High School varsity cheerleaders charged for allegedly hazing junior varsity cheerleaders last summer were placed on one-year probation Friday. Harris County Court at Law No. 2 Judge Larry Standley approved a pretrial intervention agreement with the attorneys of Hayley Davis, 17, and Adelynn Garner, 18. According to the district attorney’s office, the agreement “could spare the former Morton Ranch High School cheerleaders from future criminal action on charges of hazing their junior colleagues.” As part of the agreement, the girls must complete at least 60 hours of community service, write a public letter of apology, obey all laws and voluntarily testify at any trials relating to the case. In exchange, prosecutors will dismiss their criminal case in December 2009.

Latest HS Hazing Incident: Utah Football Players Accused of "Mobbing" Younger Teammate in Hallway

Never heard of "mobbing?" Neither had we until this story came out. On one hand it sounds like stupid teen aged boys being stupid teen aged boys, but then again it could also be considered hazing. We'll let the administration at East High School decide. Here's more from the Salt Lake Tribune:

Five East High School students were suspended and four cited by police after an incident some are calling a hazing.

The students, all boys and football players, allegedly surrounded another student in a school hallway during lunch Nov. 20 and punched the student's arms, chest and back as part of a practice some call "mobbing," said Jason Olsen, Salt Lake City School District spokesman. No one sustained serious injuries in the incident, which Olsen said was possibly a hazing.

No victim ever came forward, Olsen and police said. Olsen said an adult hall monitor reported the incident. The district prohibits hazing, and four of the boys were cited by police for committing unlawful acts in the school, said Lara Jones, spokeswoman for the Salt Lake City Police Department.

"Anything like that is not allowed," Olsen said. Olsen said students use the term mobbing, though the term makes the event sound worse than it is as those involved usually don't aim to cause serious injury. Olsen said he hasn't heard of other mobbing incidents in the district for several years.

"The tough thing we're seeing with this is sometimes hazing rituals and rites of passage … are accepted by a community," Olsen said. "We need the community to stand up with us and say, in this day and age this should not happen."

Band Hazing Update: Southern University Suspends 7 for Beating Freshmen With 2x4

A 2x4 as a hazing device? What where the upperclassmen on Southern University's Marching Band thinking? Obviously they weren't, because two of the three band mates were beaten so badly they had to be hospitalized! One kid claims he was hit more than 50 times. 50 times with a freakin' 2x4! That usually means more than just a slap on the wrist by Dean Wormer. This time, someone is going to jail, and it likely the guys in the French horn section. Here's more from KSLA in Shreveport:

Three members of the Southern University band were beaten with a 2x4 wooden board as part of initiation into the band's French horn section, a probable cause report says. Two of the victims remain hospitalized in serious condition.

Six band members were arrested Tuesday (Dec. 2) and a seventh suspect turned himself in to authorities Wednesday (Dec. 3). Tuesday morning, East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputies arrested Harvey Harrison and Carlos-Andres Carter, both 19 years old. They are each charged with aggravated battery and ritualistic acts, both felonies. The pair denied any knowledge of the incident, investigators said.

Tuesday afternoon, four additional suspects were arrested and also charged with aggravated second-degree battery and ritualistic acts. The suspects include 23-year-old Jeremy Dixon of Natchez, Mississippi; 21-year-old Joseph Lee Webb of Columbus, Georgia; 22-year-old Lagarian Bridgewater of Baton Rouge; and 20-year-old Aubrey Harris, Jr. of Canton, Mississippi. Wednesday morning, 20-year-old Clifton Taylor of Baton Rouge turned himself in. He faces the same charges as the other suspects.

The probable cause report states that according to a witness, as part of the initiation ritual, "The three subjects were blindfolded and told to remove their shirts." The report also states, "They then had water splashed on them as senior members of the organization struck them numerous times with open hands. The three victims were then told to bend over at the waist and the senior members began striking them numerous times with a large wooden board, commonly referred to as a 2x4. One victim elected to stop the ritual after he had been struck over 50 times with the board. In a statement to investigators, he identified seven members of the French horn section of the band who were present at the home and participated in the ritual."