Page |1 Running head: HAZING IN SPORTSHow Hazing Plays a Role in High School & Collegiate Athletics and Affects it has on Athletes Tiana Dolson Liberty High School Humiliation, brutality, sodomy, and degradation are just a few of the horrendous behaviors that have taken place in sports. In recent years, an old, but very much alive problem has begun to resurface in sports, and that is the issue of humiliating and victimizing rookie athletes through hazing rituals (Peluso, 2009). All across the United States many individuals make the decision to try-out for a sport in the hopes of enjoying healthy competition and being part of something great. However, what many of these individuals do not understand is that tryouts don’t always end when the last cut is made and the final team list is posted. Most sports fans and parents are unaware of what might happen to rookie athletes before the season begins and throughout the year. The code of silence protects these secret initiations and hazing rituals that can take place anywhere, such as in locker rooms, at the back of crowded team buses, at team parties, and during try-outs behind closed doors. Hazing plays a dangerous role in athletics at both the high school and collegiate level, and greatly affects the athlete damaging them physically, mentally, and in some cases causes sexual trauma. While it may be true that not all initiations involve hazing, all hazing is done as an initiation (Peluso, 2009). Initiation is a one-time event in a team, in contrast to hazing, which can go on over a period of time including before and long after actual initiation ceremonies (Kirby, 2002). Hazing is defined as “any activity expected of someone joining a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses, or endangers, regardless of the person’s willingness to participate” (Rosner & Crow, 2002, p. 87-88). Rites of passage mark important transitions in life, and soon after the first Page |2 HAZING IN SPORTS universities arose in Europe, it became customary to subject new students to some form of initiation (Solberg, 1998). Initiation and hazing rituals also help create and maintain the hierarchical authority and power structure of the team where the veterans of the team are superior to the rookies. Factors that influence hazing are clear that one would experience more hazing in competitive, team, and contact sports than in less competitive, individual, and non-contact sports. Veteran athletes haze out of jealousy, for fun, initiation, intimidation, were previously hazed themselves, and the need to preserve their power over new players that potentially threaten their starting spot. Hazing requires athletes to make sacrifices for the game and “prove” they are worthy teammates. Making sacrifices for the game encourages athletes to display absolute commitment to their sport and meet the expectations of their teammates (Waldron & Kowalski, 2009). Competing for starting spots is a problem because it causes enormous tension between teammates. Veteran players believe they put in all the time and effort over the years and have rightfully earned that position regardless if the new player is better, and are willing to do anything to keep it. From the veterans’ perspective, hazing is a way to distinguish the truly dedicated players from the weaker ones. If a rookie refuses any part of the initiation or hazing ritual at any point, they are clearly unworthy, weak, and haven’t earned the right to become a team member. Because hazing is a process of social control, rookies learn the requirements for team membership (Holman, 2004). For example, the veterans haze because they want to ensure that the newcomers have the same devotion for the game and are willing to make sacrifices in order to better the team. This idea is known as the sport ethic. Sport ethic is the expectation that coaches and athletes hold of one another; it is the expectation to win no matter what the cost to self or others. Sport ethic consists of four values: making sacrifices for the game, striving for Page |3 HAZING IN SPORTS distinction, playing through pain, and refusal to accept limitations in pursuit of winning (Waldron & Kowalski, 2009). Hazing is not an issue to be taken lightly as it knows no boundaries as to when and where it will happen and is not gender specific (Peluso, 2009). Hazing can affect athletes physically, mentally, and sexually. Studies show athletes can become depressed, embarrassed, angry, frightened, stressed, ashamed, nervous, and sometimes unable to sleep out of fear of what could happen to them during the night. Traditionally, athletic hazing was limited to relatively benign activities such as having rookies carry travel bags for veteran players or sing team songs in front of others (Rosner & Crow, 2002). In recent times, however, these somewhat harmless behaviors have been replaced by potentially dangerous activities such as assault, binge drinking, sexual harassment, and exploitation (Rosner & Crow, 2002). These activities affect athletes physically, as they are sometimes bruised, cut, pierced, branded, suffer concussions, have broken bones, and may become physically sick. Sexually, athletes may lose their innocence and are traumatized by being forced to perform sexual acts and from being sexually assaulted, as many are sodomized. Hazing often plays a dangerous role in athletics at both the high school and collegiate level, but some argue that initiations are useful for increasing dedication and tenacity amongst participants (Kirby, 2002) and it isn’t such a big deal. These acts are just old traditions of initiations, rites of passages, and no real harm is being done. Many say it’s just “boys being boys” or “girls being girls”; teammates playing practical jokes on rookies. Many coaches don’t want to waste time discussing these matters and believe their job is to teach the players to perform at their best on the field and their focus is on winning the game. Those against initiation and hazing say that such practices do not bring people together but rather breed violence, separateness and insecurity (Kirby, 2002). Many believe hazing decreases athletic performance Page |4 HAZING IN SPORTS as there is conflict, resentment, and mistrust between the new and veteran players making the team weaker. These extreme repercussions can’t be justified by tradition. Coaches need to bring awareness to their players about the consequences of their actions. Coaches should care less about winning and more about the wellness and safety of their players by supervising, reinforcing anti-hazing laws, and providing positive team building activities. In the words of Brian Crow and Scott R. Rosner, two of these views main proponents, “actions that are considered hazing by some are not considered hazing and are not objectionable to others.” (Rosner & Crow, 2002). According to this view, it demonstrates how coaches and athletes evaluate situations differently as to what actions or behaviors constitutes hazing and what constitutes initiation. As well as, upperclassmen having gone through it themselves when they were rookies thinking it’s just part of making it on the team and don’t think of it as criminal behavior. The, “If I did it, you can do it too” mentality. My own view is that when initiations turn from fun, happy, positive team building experiences, and instead endanger, humiliate, or embarrass an athlete joining a team is considered hazing and I agree plays a dangerous role in high school and collegiate athletics and should not be tolerated. This is to stop any mental or physical harm and to hold hazers accountable for their actions. Though I concede that not all initiation involves hazing, some are fun and harmless pranks that teammates do to each other out of friendship and for team bonding purposes. For this reason we need to be careful not to accuse players without a clear definition to what constitutes as hazing and be sure to investigate fully before any steps are taken to accuse. There must be some accountability from those who don’t respect the guidelines or anti-hazing laws. To understand the dynamics of how dangerous hazing can be, and the impact it is having on high school and collegiate athletes, we must examine a few examples. In research Page |5 HAZING IN SPORTS conducted by Alfred University, acts of hazing were seen in high numbers from the middle school level through the collegiate level (Peluso, 2009). According to this research, eight out of ten athletes had been subjected to hazing during college; more than four out of every ten athletes had been subjected to some form of hazing during high school; and lastly, at least one out every twenty athletes faced acts of hazing during their middle school years (Peluso, 2009). In the extensive work on hazing completed by Alfred University stated over 1500 high school students responded to a national survey, and the lack of clarity and agreement on what constitutes hazing was reflected. In their results the researchers found that although only 14 percent of the subjects said they were hazed, 48 percent said they participated in activities that were dined as hazing, and 29 percent said they did things that were potentially illegal in order to join a group (Tokar & Stewart, 2010). One hazing incident in high school involved eight members of the Trumbull Connecticut High School wrestling team who were arrested in connection to a hazing scandal. Over a three month period the victim was “hog-tied” with athletic tape, stuffed inside a locker, thrown against the wall, and repeatedly sodomized with a plastic knife. This hazing is even more heinous because the 15-year-old victim is a special education student (Nuwer, 2002). One of the most notable cases involved the boys’ varsity and junior varsity football teams where three players were charged with sodomizing three younger players. These boys who endured the acts of sodomy will have to go through numerous surgeries, face continuous taunting from peers, and live each day knowing this type of situation could have been prevented. Another involved the annual powderpuff football game where senior girls turned a fun event into a violent attack on junior females. One female was sent to the hospital for stiches, another left with a broken ankle, and numerous others ended up with concussions (Peluso, 2009). As mentioned earlier hazing Page |6 HAZING IN SPORTS knows no gender. Unfortunately, many would like to believe that such barbaric acts could not be committed by females, but the truth of the matter is that hazing is seen with both males and females (Peluso, 2009). Unfortunately hazing does not only occur in high school. According to a study by Alfred University conducted in 1999, nearly eighty-percent of college athletes have been hazed on one level or another (Peluso, 2009). An incident where a former walk-on goalie and eight other freshmen players attended a team party in which they were coerced into lying on a basement floor while being spat upon and having beer poured over them. They were forced to engage in a “pie-eating contest”. The pie consisted of seafood quiche doctored with ketchup and barbeque sauce, and was accompanied by a community bucket into which several of them vomited in nearby. They performed push-ups while naked as their genitals dipped into warm beer beneath them – the number of push-ups done determining whether they could drink their own glass of beer, or someone else’s. They also paraded around naked, performing an “elephant walk” in which the players held each other’s genitals (Crow & Rosner, 2002). Another incident where a former University of Oklahoma female soccer player who was a freshman, was forced to perform simulated oral sex with a banana while blindfolded and wearing an adult diaper. The humiliated victim, out of fear of losing her scholarship, did not report the incident for a year. Other athletes report being spat on, urinated on, forced to drink as much as they can until they vomit or pass out, scalped, pierced, branded, whipped, and forced to steal or destroy property. Many are also stripped naked and forced to complete humiliating and embarrassing tasks or blindfolded and left in remote areas with their hands bound behind them. These numbers are staggering, but what is more staggering is the fact that these numbers may not be the true depiction of how many athletes are actually hazed. Many fail to report Page |7 HAZING IN SPORTS incidents of hazing because of embarrassment, possible repercussions following a report, and feelings of guilt that the incident was their fault (Peluso, 2009). Others report being afraid to tell and break the sacred code of silence, out of fear of being ostracized. These horrific examples show how dangerous hazing has become and how many athletes are coerced into these shameful acts. Additionally, it is obvious that most instances of hazing occur without being reported to coaches, school or team officials, or law enforcement, despite the fact that they are illegal in forty-three states (Rosner & Crow, 2002). Only Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, and Wyoming do not have anti-hazing statutes (Rosner & Crow, 2002). These seven states have no legislation against hazing as it is often hard to prove you have grounds for either a civil or criminal case. Research on successful cases shows the following actions have been taken against defendants: Removal from ones position, juvenile detention, fines, monetary payment of punitive damage, termination of athletic season, and suspension from programs (Peluso, 2009). The evidence is clear that through research studies and athletic testimonies that hazing plays a dangerous role in athletics at both the high school and collegiate level and greatly affects athletes damaging them physically, mentally, and in some cases responsible for sexual trauma. Unfortunately, initiation rites are a traditional part of athletic team membership that will not likely disappear soon. There are, however, several ways that coaches, and administrators can prevent initiations from becoming criminal hazing that endangers the innocence and even the lives of student athletes (Crow & Rosner, 2002). Send clear anti-hazing messages by developing a written anti-hazing policy, promote responsibility, integrity, and civility, and last offer teambuilding initiation rites. Hazing is detrimental to the institution of sport and is widespread, misunderstood, and harmful. It is essential that athletes are empowered to speak out against the Page |8 HAZING IN SPORTS abuse of hazing. For hazing to decrease, individual athletes will have to be bold enough to break the code of silence and report cases (Waldron & Kowaiski, 2009). Coaches should have team discussions about hazing where athletes are challenged to think critically about the consequences of their actions. Athletes will learn they are empowered to stop abusive and violent behaviors wherever they may occur. Coaches and school administrators must establish a clear line of what hazing is and how it differs from team bonding initiations as to stop these shameful, abusive, and heinous behaviors and acts from happening to innocent athletic rookies who just want to play the sport they love. Athletic teams need to understand that should any of these behaviors occur, legal ramifications will be forthcoming. High schools and universities must enforce zero tolerance policies to stop these dangerous and criminal behavior from occurring and keeping their athletes safe. Page |9 HAZING IN SPORTS References Howard, A., Kennedy, E. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, vol. 37, no. 4 (Dec., 2006), pp. 347-365 Kirby, S., Wintrup, G. (2002) Running the gauntlet: An examination of initiation/hazing and sexual abuse in sport. Taylor & Francis Online, 8(2), 49-68 doi: 10.1080/13552600208413339 Nuwer, H., (1998-2010) Hazing and athletics, retrieved from http://www.stophazing.org/athletic_hazing/index.htm Rosner, S. R. (2002). Institutional and organizational liability for hazing in intercollegiate and professional team sports. St. John's Law Review, 76(1), 87. Solberg, W. (1998). Harmless pranks or brutal practices? Hazing at the University of Illinois, 1868-1913. University of Illinois Press, vol. no 91(issue no. 4), pages 233-259 doi:http://www.jstor.org/stable/40193289 The Sports Journal, (2013) Hazing in sports: The effects and legal ramifications, retrieved from http://www.thesportjournal.org/article/hazing-sports-effects-and-legal-ramifications Tokar, K., & Stewart, C. (2010). Defining high school hazing: Control through clarity. Physical educator, 67(4), 204-208. Waldron, J. J., & Kowaiski, C. L. (2009). Crossing the Line: Rites of passage, team aspects, and ambiguity of hazing. Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport, 80(2), 291-302.