Allegations of hazing involving M.L. King, Lithonia football teams investigated
- 8/17/10
- Categorized in: DeKalb News, Football, Sports
Several acts of hazing by Lithonia High School football players are alleged in a police report released by the North Georgia College and State University campus police.
Incidents described in the report include whipping a player with belts in the shower, urinating in Powerade bottles and water bottles, removing a mattress from a room and shaving a player’s head while he was held down by several teammates.
The incidents allegedly happened July 30 while the team was at a football camp at the Dahlonega university.
The victim who filed the report told police he was teased by several team members about “how they were going to mess with him once they arrived on campus.” One player told the victim, “You’re scared, aren’t you?” because he would not sit in the back of the bus with the upper classmen, according to the report.
The victim, who is listed in the report as a 10th grader, told police he was held down by several teammates in a hallway while players “shaved a rectangle-shaped box in the back of his head” with an electric razor.
According to the report, the victim said he told assistant coach Lloyd Morrison about the incident but that the coach “did not take him seriously and asked if he wanted to retaliate.”
Seven people were listed as suspects in the report, and their names were redacted from the document along with the names of the victim, witnesses, a parent and a roommate.
Lithonia head football coach Marcus Jelks did not want to comment on the allegations.
Lithonia is one of two schools that allegedly were involved in hazing at football camps earlier this month.
Two football players at M.L. King Jr. High School have been suspended from the team pending an investigation into an alleged hazing incident, Lions coach Michael Carson said. Carson took his players to a camp at Rock Eagle in Eatonton.
DeKalb County Schools confirmed Tuesday it is investigating allegations involving both schools.
“We have duly reported these allegations and we are waiting for the reports,” said Bob Moseley, assistant chief superintendent of DeKalb County Schools. “We also have done an administrative investigation and have talked to all the participants.”
Moseley said DeKalb County has a system-side disciplinary code that applies to events or activities held off campus.
School officials said there is a range of consequences for an incident such as hazing, “going up to out of school suspension and referral to the student evidentiary hearing committee,” Moseley said.
As a parent, I would be furious if any incident would cause authorities to cancel out the entire season of my child's activity.
Those directly involved, including the coaches should be punished but the show must go on. We have a lot of good kids that are serious minded about what they do and they should not be penalized by the unthoughtful actions of others.
I agree with the statement severe punishment should be given to everyone identified as having taken a part in this and other types of hazing. And we wonder why the academic success rate is so low, graduation rate at the bottom when counted and compared with the other fifty ( 50 ) states. Go figure. And what's happening in some of the private school?
Is there some good news about happenings in DeKalb schools? Surely we have students doing the right thing and achieving different levels of success. If so, let's hear about them also to counterbalance the knuckleheads.