Hazing Quick Links

Scope of the problem

Examples of hazing

Hazing is wrong and against the law

You can end up in jail for hazing

What does “hazing death” mean?

How many kids have died from hazing?

Fraternity and sorority hazing and sports hazing

Youth sports hazing

How can I stop hazing?

Confidentiality and privacy when filing a hazing civil lawsuit

What is the deadline for filing a hazing civil lawsuit?

Why contact Steve Crane and Crane Law?

There is no fee until you win

What Is Hazing?

Hazing is “any activity expected of someone joining or participating in a group that humiliates, degrades, abuses or endangers them, regardless of a person’s willingness to participate,” quoting the National Collaborative for Hazing Research & Prevention at the University of Maine which is one of the only academic centers devoted to the study of hazing behavior. Hazing includes in both official and unofficial social groups, sports organizations, and fraternities. Hazing is uniquely dangerous because it uses group coercion to force people to act against their own well-being.

Scope of the Problem

A well-known study by Alfred University found that 79 percent of male and female athletes that play for a team under the auspices of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) report being hazed in college. Five percent reported being first hazed in middle or junior high school, and 42 percent were first hazed in high school. The researchers estimated that more than 1.5 million high school students experience hazing each year.

Though long viewed as a rite of passage or horseplay among peers, hazing incidents have resulted in serious physical injuries, serious psychological injuries, suicide, and death. Recently, stories have been reported by the media of injuries incurred in hazing incidents in Illinois involving a girls’ powder puff football team and in Long Island, New York with a boy’s football team. In Michigan, a Ferris State University student died after participating in an unofficial fraternity hazing party that involved heavy drinking. The University of Michigan chapter of Sigma Chi was kicked off campus last fall after a pledge suffered kidney failure from a hazing incident that included being deprived of food and water and being forced to do calisthenics.

In a well-publicized case, twelve-year-old Garret Drogosch suffered a seriously broken leg and other injuries from forced participation in “eighth-grade hit day”, an annual tradition held on the last day of football practice at his Northville middle school in which the younger players stand still with arms at their sides while taking hits from the eighth-grade members of the team. Before passing out, Garret said that he heard bones cracking and the coaches laughing. Garret was hospitalized for several days, has had two operations already with more scheduled in the future, was confined to a wheelchair for two months, and has endured months of physical therapy and rehabilitation. The local police chief was recorded in media reports as not considering the incident to be “hazing” and doubting that criminal charges would be filed.

Examples of Hazing

• Forced consumption of any liquid or food
• Forced sleep deprivation or confinement
• Pressure to commit a crime or a degrading act
• Branding, cutting, or shaving any part of the body
• Forced nudity or partial nudity
• Simulation or actual commitment of a sexual act
• Requiring embarrassing behavior not required of other members

Hazing is Wrong & Against the Law

In Michigan hazing is illegal. The law is known as “Garret’s Law” for twelve-year old Garret Drogosch. (See MCL 750.411t).

Hazing” means an intentional, knowing, or reckless act by a person acting alone or acting with others that is directed against an individual and that the person knew or should have known endangers the physical health or safety of the individual, and that is done for the purpose of pledging, being initiated into, affiliating with, participating in, holding office in, or maintaining membership in any organization.

Garret’s Law is directed at groups whose members are at an education institution where pledging or being initiated into is expected.

Education institution is broader that college membership in a Greek fraternity. “Educational institution” include a public or private school that is a middle school, junior high school, high school, vocational school, college, or university located in this state.

Groups where membership is based on pledging is broader than just pledging to a fraternity or sorority. It includes pleading to an association, corporation, orders, society, corps, cooperative, club, service group, social group, athletic team, or similar group whose members are primarily students at an educational institution.

A “pledge” means an individual who has been accepted by, is considering an offer of membership from, or is in the process of qualifying for membership in any organization.

The act of “pledging” means any action or activity related to becoming a member of an organization.

It is not a defense to a prosecution for a crime under this section that the individual against whom the hazing was directed consented to or acquiesced in the hazing.

of an individual.

Hazing includes any of the following that is done for such a purpose:

• Physical brutality, such as whipping, beating, striking, branding, electronic shocking, placing of a harmful substance on the body, or similar activity.
• Physical activity, such as sleep deprivation, exposure to the elements, confinement in a small space, or calisthenics, that subjects the other person to an unreasonable risk of harm or that adversely affects the physical health or safety of the individual.
• Activity involving consumption of a food, liquid, alcoholic beverage, liquor, drug, or other substance that subjects the individual to an unreasonable risk of harm or that adversely affects the physical health or safety of the individual.
• Activity that induces, causes, or requires an individual to perform a duty or task that involves the commission of a crime or an act of hazing.

You Can End Up in Jail for Hazing

Yes. The severity of the chargeable offense depends on the severity on harm inflicted on the victim. If the hazing results in physical injury, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for not more than 93 days or a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or both. If the hazing results in serious impairment of a body function, the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $2,500.00, or both. If the results in death, the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 15 years or a fine of not more than $10,000.00, or both.

What Does “Hazing Death” Mean?

Hazing death is the term for any hazing behavior that ends in wrongful death. The hazing may not be a direct cause in some deaths—hazing may just contribute to the individual’s harm. For example, when Tim Piazza fell down the stairs while looking for an exit, he fatally ruptured his spleen. While the fall itself was not part of the hazing ritual, his drunken stupor was—and thanks to the inaction of his ‘brothers,’ he was denied the medical help that would have saved his life.

Hazing is dangerous for the well-being of individuals. When a group or organization convinces an individual to sacrifice their independence for the sake of belonging or pledging, it makes them more likely to ignore their body’s natural sense of self-preservation. It’s how students have felt compelled to drink themselves to death or suffer serious harm.

How Many Kids Have Died from Hazing?

Disturbingly, hazing has killed at least one person on a college campus every year since 1969. Franklin College journalism professor and author of Hazing Hank Nuwer believes approximately 200 students have died from hazing since 1838, and at least 40 of those deaths occurred in the last 10 years. Most of these hazing deaths have occurred due to alcohol poisoning.

Numbers are often difficult to confirm. There is currently no centralized database for deaths caused by hazing and hazing itself has not been given a standardized academic definition until recently. Additionally, many schools and organizations dispute the role hazing played in many student deaths—throwing many records into dispute. Suffice it to say that at least 40 students have died from hazing since 2007.

Sadly, the real number of death from having is likely far higher.

Fraternity and Sorority Hazing and Sports Hazing

Although fraternity hazing appears to be more commonplace, an Alfred University survey found that 80 percent of college athletes had been hazed, the vast majority of hazing incidents — on the high school, college and pro levels — go unreported.

Other organizations and groups engage in hazing rituals that cause injuries and death. This includes sorority hazing, sports hazing, and hazing undertaken by other organizations on the college and even the high school level.

A notorious case involving another type of organization was an insidious case of marching band hazing that hit the headlines in recent times. In November of 2011 Florida A&M drum major Robert Champion died after a band hazing ritual in which he was beaten aboard a school bus following a football game in Orlando, Florida. “The initiation required pledges to run down the center of the bus while being punched, kicked and assaulted by senior members.”  In April of 2015, three bandmates of Champion were convicted of manslaughter and hazing with the result of death.

These types of hazing also present similar problems when it comes to bringing all responsible parties to justice.

ESPN.com with the help of hazing authority Hank Nuwer, compiled a list of 68 alleged and confirmed incidents involving high school, college, and professional athletes that received media attention. (https://www.espn.com/otl/hazing/list.html)

Generally, the incidents came to light through the police or court system.

You need a skilled, qualified personal injury attorney to ensure that all parties that contributed to injuries, including fatal injuries, are fully held responsible for sorority hazing, sports hazing, and other types of harmful hazing incidents.

Youth Sports Hazing

Even though fraternity hazing seems to get the most national press coverage, having occurred in youth athletics. Broom sticking involves penetrating the rectum with a broom handle. It’s one of the more common forms of hazing. It usually involves bullies who are upperclassman. Sadly, many upperclassmen see it as an earned right to haze all freshmen.

In March of 2016, three high school football players in Tennessee were charged with assault after allegedly broom sticking a teammate, penetrating the victim’s rectum.

One particularly graphic occurrence happened in December of 2015 in Ooltewah, Tennessee. Coaches left the players unsupervised while grocery shopping. It was reported that the attacks “started out on the freshman in the downstairs basement … All of the freshmen go the pool cue,” which included the boy who would later have “holes in his pants.” The victim sustained serious injuries from the sodomy. He required surgery. Apparently, it was common knowledge that bully upperclassman hazed all the freshman during their out-of-town stay. Three high school basketball players in Tennessee were charged with aggravated rape and aggravated assault. (https://www.thedailybeast.com/varsity-basketball-players-raped-teammate-and-school-let-team-keep-playing)

Sadly, the Ooltewah incident is likely a one-off incident.

Since 2011, ESPN’s Outside the Line found more than 40 hazing incidents involving sodomy.

The story of three victims was shared with OTL:

• Josh Villegas was a 14-years old freshman football player at the time he was attached. He says “I was just too scared to tell.” “Overpowered by teammates,” Josh says he was pinned against a wall face-first while another teammate sodomized him with his fingers.” “In July 2014, Josh and his mother sued the school district, alleging that coaches and administrators allowed to exist a “long-lasting tradition of ritual hazing and sadomasochistic sexual beatings.”
• Jordan Preavy was 16-year-old a junior football player. Older teammates used a broom handle to sodomize through his clothing as part of a hazing ritual. Jordan never told his parents about the incident. Tragically, on Aug. 28, 2012, just a few weeks after his 17th birthday, Jordan committed suicide. A criminal investigation into hazing on the Milton football team eventually led to the conviction of five football players on various charges.
• D’Arcy McKeown, was an 18-year-old a high-profile incoming center for the McGill University football team in Montreal. Soon after he arrived, he started hearing degrading and violent threats from some veteran players, including ominous references to “Dr. Broom” and a bizarre hazing ritual. Eventually, upper classmen broom sticked McKeown, which he later reported to coaches. When coaches did nothing, he went to the athletic director, university president and provost. D’Arcy’s actions eventually led to player suspensions, forfeited games and major revisions to McGill’s hazing policies. McKeown says, “It takes a lot to get through this. But I think for me what ended up driving it was just focusing on that one goal: stopping it. … If I didn’t speak out, I didn’t feel anyone else there that night would.”

According to the ESPN OTL investigation, in all three cases, school administrators often minimized the events or were ill-equipped to investigate what happened. The consequences of these attacks are long-lasting and traumatic: “I’m always looking over my shoulder,” Josh Villegas says. “I’m always on edge.” (http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/17507010/otl-investigation-trend-sodomy-hazing)

How Can I Stop Hazing?

As a member, your responsibility is to ensure that you and your fellow members are open to changing your tightly-held traditions. Just because you and your fellow fraternity members were forced to undergo abusive treatment doesn’t mean future pledges need to suffer the same. In the end, the best way to address hazing is to speak up. Hold each other accountable as individuals to the events you’re planning. As a pledge, speak with the head of student affairs or Greek life on your campus—and make sure you’re not just reporting your concerns to a student.

If your organization is unwilling to listen, you’ll need to report hazing behavior to campus authorities. Most students are unwilling to do the hard thing and report their ‘brothers,’ but reporting harmful behavior may end up saving lives—and that’s more important than saving a tradition.

Confidentiality & Privacy When Filing a Hazing Civil Lawsuit

In the college and university setting, you may be entitled to privacy under Federal Law. When possible, Steve will file your case as “Jane or John Doe.” This can keep your identity private, while still allowing you to pursue the deserved justice.

Steve is personally and professionally driven to help victims of past and present sex abuse, bullying, hazing and physical assaults to find safety, to recover and put their lives back together. He is truly a comforting light – assuring protection, and safety in addition to winning the financial compensation his clients deserve for their pain and loss.

If you are a victim of hazing, you should contact experienced and respected attorney Steve Crane. He and his team can assess the facts of your case and help you in a trusted, private and secure manner determine the best course of action to move forward.

To schedule a discrete and confidential consultation about your matter, email or call us at (833) 855-4400.

What is the Deadline for Filing a Hazing Civil Lawsuit?

The “statute of limitations” is a term used by courts to describe the maximum amount of time plaintiffs can wait before bringing a lawsuit. This time limit is set by state law and is intended to promote fairness and keep old cases from clogging the courts. In the publication of private facts cases, the statute of limitations ordinarily runs from the date of first publication of the offending facts.

Because Michigan’s Wrongful Death Act does not include a statute of limitations, the statute of limitations for the underlying cause of action (i.e., negligence) applies. In the case of wrongful death actions based on general negligence, the statute of limitations is the general 3-year statute of limitations for injury to a person or property when reviewing. See Michigan Compiled Law 600.5805(2).

The statute of limitations varies for sexual abuse (which includes criminal sexual conduct and the broom-sticking of one’s rectum) and when the victim is a minor.

Michigan Compiled Law 600.5851b(1)(a) allows children (minors) until age 28 to file a civil lawsuit, or under section 5851b(1)(b), within three years of discovering the harm, whichever is later. See Michigan Compiled Law 600.5851b(1)(b).

MCL 600.5805(6) affords adult victims 10 years from the most recent incident of sexual abuse to bring a case against the abuser.

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