00:00The hazing problem has been around for a long time, and believe it or not, despite all the efforts to try to stop it, it seems to be getting worse, not better.
00:09David Bianchi calls the months of September and October hazing season.
00:13The Miami, Florida-based attorney has represented families in hazing cases for more than four decades.
00:19The rash of cases across the country involving high school football teams in recent weeks isn't a surprise to him.
00:26There have been at least five high-profile cases in the news in the last six weeks.
00:33The principal at Elk Grove High School in Sacramento, California, sent a letter to parents outlining a hazing incident involving members of the football team.
00:42A week later, an incident at a rival school just five miles away led to the suspension of seven Monterey Trail high school football players.
00:51Kentucky State Police have opened an investigation into hazing allegations involving the football team at McCreary Central High School, which took place at a preseason football camp.
01:01Harford Technical High School in Bel Air, Maryland, fired its head football coach and four assistants on September 18th amid an investigation into hazing allegations.
01:11And a Title IX federal lawsuit has been filed in Ohio alleging widespread hazing in the football program at Ursuline High School in Youngstown.
01:21More than 20 students are alleged to have been involved, and the school canceled the remainder of the football season on September 12th.
01:28Despite the fact that 44 states have laws against hazing, there are dozens of documented cases each year, many of which involve criminal acts,
01:37according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.
01:41Bianchi believes it's simply a matter of accountability.
01:45So you've got all the laws, rules, and regulations that you can think of on the books, but it keeps happening.
01:51And the reason it keeps happening is that we're not tough enough on trying to enforce these laws and regulations,
01:59and when these incidents do happen, the punishment is not swift enough or stern enough.
02:05In the case of Ursuline High School, there was no punishment at all, initially.
02:10The lawsuit filed September 2nd accuses members of the football team in engaging in hazing, sexual assault, and the dissemination of child pornography, among other offenses.
02:20It details the disturbing experience of a player who endured an initiation during a nine-day football camp in June.
02:27Sobhod Chandra, who represents the player and his family, said the incidents go way beyond a harmless prank.
02:33What the law does prohibit is these sorts of violent acts, sexualized acts, and other things.
02:40And so it's very difficult to comprehend, number one, how does a culture like this develop across time,
02:48as is alleged in the lawsuit regarding the Ursuline football team?
02:52How do coaches tolerate it look the other way?
02:57Straight Arrow News reached out to Ursuline High School and the Archdiocese of Youngstown, but have not yet received a response.
03:04The lawsuit alleges the coaching staff knew about the hazing and, when confronted, dismissed the actions as just boys being boys.
03:13The suit also accuses the school's administration for failing to properly investigate.
03:19Chandra said the parents of the victims are baffled, and they don't understand how their pleas for help could go unheard.
03:25He believes the Ursuline football team appeared to be more important than any other values at the school.
03:31So how those cultures develop, how they sustain themselves, how they remain resilient against criminal law,
03:39against civil liability prospects, against basic humanity and decency, is really unclear to me.
03:46It's incomprehensible.
03:48But there is, according to the suits, a kind of groupthink that develops within the team and with the coaches and perhaps even with the administrators.
03:56That groupthink can be stimulated and even encouraged by technology.
04:01Many of these high-profile hazing incidents involve video recordings taken by bystanders or those directly involved.
04:09The videos are then typically distributed within the group via Snapchat or other apps,
04:14and in some instances shared even wider on social media.
04:18Todd Shelton, CEO of the Hazing Prevention Network, believes a viral copycat mentality is pervasive in this social media generation.
04:27There's a level of one-upmanship occurring where someone sees a hazing incident and they think it's funny or they think it's cool,
04:37and they want to do it with their team or their new members,
04:42and they want to one-up the incident that they saw because they want theirs to be the one that people think is cool.
04:51And so, yes, I think absolutely it's making hazing worse.
04:56Bianchi agrees phones and social media have become a much bigger part of hazing in recent years.
05:01That technology, though, also brings more of these cases to light.
05:05Then the kids try to take it down, but you can't take it down because you can't put the genie back in the bottle.
05:10And let me tell you, these incidents have long-term consequences, even for high school students,
05:16because what happens is when you record it and you post it, and now you can't take it down,
05:22this is going to follow you for the rest of your life if the police decide to investigate.
05:27Another factor that Bianchi said can perpetuate hazing at the high school level,
05:31the feeling that football stars, who are likely team leaders,
05:35could go on to earn big dollars under the new pay-for-play college football model.
05:41Those players may feel they are immune to rules or invincible.
05:45They're involved in a sports team where they were highly recruited and now they're driving a fancy car
05:50and they've got more money than they ever dreamed of.
05:52And you throw that into the mix with all the other ingredients that make a perfect case for hazing,
05:58it's only going to make the problem worse because they're going to feel like they're bulletproof,
06:04they can get out of anything.
06:05Shelton calls hazing the abuse of a power dynamic by people already a part of a group or organization,
06:12against those trying to become a part of it.
06:1422% of students experience some form of hazing in high school, according to a 2017 YouGov study.
06:22Stopping it requires schools, coaches, and administrators to educate students about the dangers of hazing
06:28and being clear and transparent about the rules.
06:31They have clear, trusted channels for reporting and then they do something about it.
06:38They take those reports seriously and hold those involved accountable.
06:44The five most recent incidents mentioned in this report are all still under investigation by the school districts
06:50and in several cases also being investigated by law enforcement.
06:55If you believe there's a pressing issue in sports you think we should dig into,
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