What shocked the nation about this incident was the claim that a high school student was sexually assaulted with a broomstick.
Older boys are accused of putting their genitals on younger boys' heads, and on Oct. 15, three 17-year-olds allegedly forced a broomstick into the anus of a younger, smaller boy.
It happened after the younger player opted out of cleaning the locker room in his underwear, authorities said. When the boy tried to leave, an upperclassman told teammates, "stick a broom up his a–," according to Hogan.
Two boys — one weighing around 280 pounds — held the younger player down while a senior began poking him between his legs, said Hogan. Some of the players said the victim was an outcast who was unpopular among the players. – nbcphiladelphia.com
The original telling of the incident by the 14 year old included being penetrated, but his account was recently amended to state there was no penetration, but just being poked with a broomstick against his legs.
Many lives were changed because of this incident. Coaches were let go, students future sports lies were changed, and the victim changed schools.
The three seniors pleaded guilty to summary harassment, but the statement doesn't say how they were punished. A summary offense is a citation, much like a traffic ticket.
The victim, the DA and the seniors "are in full agreement with this disposition," the statement said.
"Because this case is a juvenile matter, all the records are sealed and the parties will not be making any further public comment," the statement said.
"No Gay Thursdays" was a tradition started by the football team at least three or four years ago in which behavior the team normally considered to be "gay" was considered "not gay" on Thursdays, Attorney Thomas Hogan told The Associated Press in March.
"It just happened to be a perfect storm of this 'No Gay Thursday' tradition and them not liking this freshman and taking it out on him in a pretty horrible way," he said. – heraldcourier.com
Since the hazing did not involve harassment seeking sexual gratification, the charges were lessened.
So what is to learn about this entire incident? Whom do you fault?
Can we blame the student / plaintiff for falsifying his report?
Can we place blame on the institution for letting this happen?
Can we look at the assailants / defendants and say they were in the wrong?
It almost seems that everyone in this case realizes that themselves and everyone else were in the wrong and they need to move on from the incident.
What are your thoughts?
