High School Hazing: South Texas case a lesson for students, parents and officials

Many readers who grew up in the Twin Cities and played high school sports will remember when hazing or initiation rituals were just part of making a team.

Sometimes it was mild-maybe a player was told to shave his hair into an "A" for Arkansas or "T" for Texas. Maybe things got a bit more physical. Most considered it a tradition, a way of bonding with teammates.

But you seldom heard of anyone getting hurt. Maybe that's because such things were more benign in those days, just good-natured ribbing. We hope so.

But it also could be everyone just kept their mouths shut and suffered in silence. If so, that's a shame.

No student should be injured physically or mentally in order to be considered a "real" member of a sports team or participate in any other extracurricular activity. That's not bonding, that's bullying.

And these days it could lead to some pretty strong consequences.

La Vernia, Texas, a suburb of San Antonio, is seeing that play out right now. The school district is under fire for allegedly allowing "sadistic" and "sexual" hazing rituals to go on for years at its high school.

Thirteen students have been arrested or detained on charges, including sexual assault, stemming from allegations of vicious hazing of a 15-year-old who was new to the varsity football team. A subsequent investigation indicates such hazing has gone on for at least a decade with as many as 10 victims identified so far.

The alleged details are horrific. We won't go into them here. Let's just say they would outrage you.

A lawsuit filed by the student's parents claims coaches at the school knew what was going on but never reported it to proper authorities. The suit charges the district did not properly supervise or train its staff.

We'll let the legal and civil charges play out in court. There's a bigger message here for parents and school officials in our own region.

Don't be blindsided by traditions that have quietly run amok. Make sure your house is in order.

And hazing and humiliation tactics aren't limited to the realm of so-called team building. Clubs and fraternal organizations have also been known to cross the line into sadistic behavior.

The harm of such rogue activity can be incalculable.

Victims can suffer lifelong trauma from such brutal hazing. Students involved can see their futures ruined for what they may wrongly see as harmless or a "tradition." School officials and districts can face lawsuits or even criminal charges as well.

Students, parents and school officials all need to be very much aware, on their guard, and proactive in weeding out degrading and dangerous traditions. They are neither germane to success or justifiable on any level.

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