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    Hazing

    Recently I was watching a documentary on HBO about the Kansas City Chiefs pre-season. An interesting show potraying a lot of the behind the scenes antics that we as spectators don't normally see or know about. One of the episodes showed the new rookie being duct taped to an endzone pole and having buckets of ice pured over his head. Although this was all in fun, it made me wonder about the whole topic of hazing and the rite of passage for young players in high school and college sports.

    When one of my sons was a freshman in high school he was the only freshman on the varsity team. Because of this, he was exposed to a "daily" initiation prior to the team practices (before the coaches showed up). My son hid it from me for a while until he got to the point where he couldn't take it anymore. He finally confided in me as to what was going on but begged me to not tell the coach. As a parent I was in a real quandry. The hazing that my son was dealing with was becoming more and more mean spirited and was effecting his enthusiasm to continue on this team. I was adament that the coach needed to know what was going on, but wanted to respect my son's request for it to remain confidential. Against my better judgement I supported my son's decision, and helped him to come up with alternatives to avoid the ongoing hazing.

    This was an issue, however that constantly nagged at me. Every sport particpant at the high school was required to sign an anti-hazing contract with punitive measures put in place if a player was found guilty engaging in these activities. The problem was that it obviously still continued, and it appeared to me that it was something that the coaching staff just turned a blind eye to. No policy was put into place to allow players that have been victimized to be able to report what was going on without fear of retribution.

    I'm curious if others have faced this and what the overall perception of the current MIAA policy is. Does it do enough to protect these young players? Do we just allow boys to be boys (not to say it doesn't happen with girls as well) or do we say enough is enough and hold these players and coaches to a higher standard?
    http://www.miaa.net/hazing-law.pdf

    #2
    Played varsity hockey as a freshman back in the late 70's...hazing then was the Atomic Wedgie. Just once and then I was all set.

    Comment


      #3
      Every freshman needs a swirlie.

      Comment


        #4
        How does the MIAA feel if you haze a mouthgard?

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Hazing

          Originally posted by MASoccer
          This was an issue, however that constantly nagged at me.............
          What exactly were they doing? I'm assuming it was physical stuff. How did it end up for your son without you getting involved?

          It may be different for boys then girls, although I have heard of girls' team hazing incidents, most (not all) seem to be at the college level. Girls' teams high school age and younger tend to torment their victims through exclusion or verbal abuse. I think learning to deal with this stuff is just part of growing up, but there are times where the tormentors cross the line and a parent has to step in.

          How well did you know the boys who were causing your son problems? I tend to think most kids are basically good kids, and if you can somehow get the message to them, without getting your son involved, that you knew what was going on and you also know it could get them bounced from the team if you had to approach the coach, most would stop. But perhaps I'm just optimitstic.
          Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.

          Comment


            #6
            Originally posted by Anonymous
            Played varsity hockey as a freshman back in the late 70's...hazing then was the Atomic Wedgie. Just once and then I was all set.
            For my HS the tradition was Bengay on a jockstrap before practice. At the end of the year we bounced the coach's car into the goalmouth between the posts.

            Comment


              #7
              The only hazing I experienced (Sports related that is) was something called freshman mudslides. In College they waited for the first really wet day and had the freshman sprint and slide on our stomach through the puddle in front of the goal on our practice field. It was actually fun.

              My 2 boys were each one of two freshman on varsity and as far as I know neither one experienced any hazing other than having to carry all the equipment.

              Comment


                #8
                Not sure that this was a hazing incident, but the underlying thinking (or lack of thought) is the same.

                4 charged with setting fire that killed Bradley soccer player
                August 13, 2007

                PEORIA (AP) -- Four men were charged Monday with setting a fire during a prank gone awry that killed a 19-year-old Bradley University soccer player.

                Nicholas Mentgen, 21, Ryan Johnson, 22, David Crady, 19, and 20-year-old Daniel Cox were charged with two counts of aggravated arson and one count of possession of an explosive or incendiary device in the death of Sheridan "Danny" Dahlquist.

                Dahlquist, a sophomore on the soccer team, died Sunday of smoke inhalation after a fire in his bedroom at a home he shared with Mentgen, Johnson and Crady. Both of Dahlquist's parents work for the university.

                "The Dahlquist family is moved by the many expressions of love and support they have received ... Please continue to hold them in your prayers," said William Engelbrecht, Bradley's vice president of advancement.

                Peoria County State's Attorney Kevin Lyons said the four men lit a roman candle under Dahlquist's bedroom door as an apparent prank after a night of drinking early Sunday. They then tried to rescue Dahlquist when they saw the candle had started a fire, but were turned back by intense heat, Lyons said.

                The men could have faced first-degree murder charges, but prosecutors opted for lesser counts after deciding they didn't mean to harm Dahlquist.

                "They intended for their friend to run outside in his underwear, going, 'What the hell happened?' ... I'm quite certain that every person I know could put themselves in the shoes of the defendants," Lyons said.

                But he added that the men need to be held accountable for Dahlquist's death.

                "I don't want to make five tragedies out of one tragedy, but I also understand that we have to have consequences for our actions," Lyons said.

                Mentgen, Johnson and Crady also are members of Bradley's soccer team, Lyons said. He said Cox is a friend of the players who attends Illinois Central College in nearby East Peoria.

                A judge set bond at $500,000 for each of the men during a hearing Monday. A Peoria County public defender, Thomas Penn Jr., sought bond of no more than $200,000, saying the tragedy was a prank that went wrong.

                If convicted, the men each face six to 30 years in prison on the aggravated arson charge, a felony that doesn't qualify for probation. Each also faces up to 30 years in prison on the explosives charge, which includes probation as an option.

                Bradley sports information director Bobby Parker said the athletic department learned of the charges Monday night and will review the players' status with the team.

                Lyons said the four men initially gave police conflicting accounts of the incident, trying to avoid responsibility for the fire.

                He said investigators later determined that the men had been involved in a similar prank two days before, and set off a roman candle under Dahlquist's door earlier Sunday that failed to ignite.

                They returned and lit two more, shooting off up to 16 balls of fire that burned at about 1,500 degrees and ignited a wall across from the door, Lyons said.

                Dahlquist was asleep in bed after a night of drinking when the explosives were set off, but was found on the floor near a window, indicating he awoke and tried to escape the fire that destroyed the bedroom and its contents, Lyons said.
                Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment.

                Comment


                  #9
                  I think there is a diffence between hazing a what we used to call zooing. Hazing is sort of a rite of passage thing were the un-initiated are put through a series of "tests" to prove they belong. Zooing is more of the everyday prank type of stuff. Both can get mean sprited and dangerous. The difference between the two is hazing is organized by the entity leaders and zooing tends to have a pack mentality. The thing at Bradley really sounds like a bunch of drunken knuckleheads making a horrible mistake while zooing a teammate. That said, no matter what you call it, anything that results in death is a tragedy.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Great picture of hazing from SI.

                    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multim ... ent.6.html

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by beentheredonethat
                      we used to call zooing.
                      Wow..blast from the past. havent heard that in a while

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Count me among those who find hazing, whether physical or mental, highly objectionable. The rule linked to in the original posting appears to come from this premise, and I agree with it.

                        Why is it ever acceptable to claim that it's good, clean fun to amuse ourselves through cruelty to others? I understand that practical jokes between friends are all part of bonding and can be understood as a path to acceptance. But why should the risk of "mistake" be borne by the victims of hazing?

                        The original poster indicated that his/her child did not perceive his treatment as a benign practical joke. The fact that he felt it necessary to plead against having a responsible adult intervene suggests that he understood reprisal would follow an attempt to be treated fairly. Frankly, it reminded me of the problems that victims of harassment sometimes face in complaining to employers.

                        One of the benefits we tout in sport is the opportunity to teach our children life skills. I agree that learning to deal with adversity is one of them, including adversity encountered when you're new. But for goodness sake, another, more important of those skills ought to be learning how to treat others with basic respect and a commitment to justice for the victims of mistreatment. I therefore think that condoning hazing because "kids will be kids" is a mistake.

                        My guess is that any school administrator would claim that his school does not condone hazing at all. If it is the case that school administrators will not or can not back up such claims with meaningful action, then something seems sorely amiss.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Hazing

                          Originally posted by MASoccer
                          Recently I was watching a documentary on HBO about the Kansas City Chiefs pre-season. An interesting show potraying a lot of the behind the scenes antics that we as spectators don't normally see or know about. One of the episodes showed the new rookie being duct taped to an endzone pole and having buckets of ice pured over his head. Although this was all in fun, it made me wonder about the whole topic of hazing and the rite of passage for young players in high school and college sports.

                          When one of my sons was a freshman in high school he was the only freshman on the varsity team. Because of this, he was exposed to a "daily" initiation prior to the team practices (before the coaches showed up). My son hid it from me for a while until he got to the point where he couldn't take it anymore. He finally confided in me as to what was going on but begged me to not tell the coach. As a parent I was in a real quandry. The hazing that my son was dealing with was becoming more and more mean spirited and was effecting his enthusiasm to continue on this team. I was adament that the coach needed to know what was going on, but wanted to respect my son's request for it to remain confidential. Against my better judgement I supported my son's decision, and helped him to come up with alternatives to avoid the ongoing hazing.

                          This was an issue, however that constantly nagged at me. Every sport particpant at the high school was required to sign an anti-hazing contract with punitive measures put in place if a player was found guilty engaging in these activities. The problem was that it obviously still continued, and it appeared to me that it was something that the coaching staff just turned a blind eye to. No policy was put into place to allow players that have been victimized to be able to report what was going on without fear of retribution.

                          I'm curious if others have faced this and what the overall perception of the current MIAA policy is. Does it do enough to protect these young players? Do we just allow boys to be boys (not to say it doesn't happen with girls as well) or do we say enough is enough and hold these players and coaches to a higher standard?
                          http://www.miaa.net/hazing-law.pdf
                          The hazee finds themselves in a predicament: they cant make it stop without saying something but if they say something, they'll be marked. Lets face it, no coach, parent or teacher can be everywhere 24/7 so staying silent is apparantly the only option. Kudos to your son for at least talking with you about it.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            dd, great post

                            Just as a point of reference, this is the CRIME of Hazing, not a MIAA rule against it. Condoning it would be like stating that the victim of an assault should simply accept it. You can certainly debate the merits of the law and whether the definition goes too far, or perhaps not far enough, but based on the original post I would say that this young boy was the victim of a crime and that cannot be tolerated.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Wow..blast from the past. havent heard that in a while
                              West Roxbury mid 70's

                              Comment

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