One Pennsylvania high school’s football season is over before it begins. Middletown Area High School is caught in a hazing scandal involving several of their football players. Now, the superintendent of the school has decided to cancel their season.
Video taken by other players shows that at least two players were being poked with different objects as part of the hazing ritual. The players appear to be dressed and unharmed. However, superintendent Dr.Chelton Hunter said that the images were “disturbing and upsetting.”
“The video shows players fully clothed. It did not appear that any student’s body was physically penetrated,” Dr. Hunter said in a letter on Monday.
“In light of this, we have made the decision to cancel the 2022 football season,” Dr. Hunter said in a letter, “I know this decision will be met with many different opinions and emotions and will impact many students and families.
“The kind of hazing that occurred in our facilities with this team is reprehensible. It simply cannot and will not be tolerated. We know we must work to address the culture of this team, educate our student body about hazing, and put programs in place to help us ensure that this kind of atmosphere is never allowed to exist in our school facilities.”
Hazing is not unusual in sports, but rarely if it’s disciplined by schools or school districts like this.
About Stacey Mickles
Stacey is a 1995 graduate of the University of Alabama who has previously worked for other publications such as Sportskeeda and Saturday Down South.