An alleged case of hazing gone wrong is going to cost a Tennessee boys basketball team their season after one teenager spent eight days in a hospital. Hamilton County superintendent Rick Smith made the decision to cancel the Ooltewah High School boys basketball season after a short board meeting Wednesday night following allegations of rape and assault stemming from an incident between players back on Dec. 22.
The team was staying in a cabin in Gatlinburg for a tournament with coaches when one player was allegedly held down and sodomized with a pool cue while another player recorded the incident. The 15-year-old was reportedly taken to a nearby hospital by a coach, and his injuries required surgery and an extended hospital stay. Three players were arrested on charges of aggravated assault and aggravated rape and suspended from school. Two of the them are in custody at a Juvenile Detention Center while the other was awarded bond and released.
WRCBTV reports that the incident was just one of many hazing incidents in which older players said the underclassmen had to be “beaten in” and that the behavior is a “ritual” at the high school. The cancellation of the season comes after parents reportedly contacted teams on the Ooltewah schedule to urge them to boycott them this season.
(WRCBTV)
