Teachers in Danvers, Massachusetts, are praising a student-athlete who came forward to detail violent, sexual, homophobic and racist hazing rituals in a high school hockey team locker room.
Danvers High School has been roiled by the description of rituals where players disrobed and were fondled, something dubbed "Gay Tuesday," and where players were roughed up if they didn't shout a racial slur.
"We strongly commend the courageous actions of the hockey player who came forth with these allegations, and we support any other victims who may have been hesitant to do the same," the teachers union wrote.
Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who has represented many Catholic Church abuse victims, called on authorities to investigate what he described as an "institutional coverup."
Police and the district attorney's office said the unnamed hockey player declined to file a criminal complaint, so they cannot pursue charges.
But Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey's office said Friday it is seeking additional information about the allegations.
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"Racism, homophobia, and bigotry of any kind have no place in our locker rooms, rinks and playing fields. If you think sports are about bullying and hazing, you're losing, and our kids are paying the price," Healey wrote in social media posts this week.
During a contentious Danvers School Committee meeting Monday night, community members questioned why nothing has been done since the report was first made.
A recent Boston Globe article accused town leaders of covering up the alleged misconduct by the team, whose coach was a prominent Danvers police sergeant. He has denied knowledge of the incident and since resigned.
Some of this “behavior” was physical, during what is being reported as weekly locker-room hazing rituals, the Globe reported. There were also offensive language reportedly exchanged over group texts, making reference to the Holocaust and mocking an image of a Black Danvers High student, suggesting he was being lynched.
