WRENTHAM, Mass. (WPRI) — Out-of-state football training camps could become a thing of the past at King Philip Regional High School in Wrentham after administrators reportedly got word of a “troubling and disappointing” hazing incident.
In a joint letter to parents from the school’s principal and superintendent, the administration explained that certain upperclassmen on the football team had been hazing 10th graders last month during their training camps in Naples, Maine, by forcing them to box each other.
The administration interviewed multiple students, families and the head coach in their initial investigation and learned that no coaches were present during the hazing incidents, and no one was seriously injured.
However, school officials said they’re taking steps to make sure hazing incidents like these don’t happen again at their school by having all students and coaches undergo mandatory leadership and bystander training during their evening practices. They’re also re-evaluating whether they’ll allow football training camps to be held offsite in the future.
“Although there were individual students who took a greater lead in orchestrating the hazing/boxing, there were many people involved and the behavior was so widespread and long-standing that there is a need to address this behavior with all individuals of the football program and all coaches, both paid and volunteer,” the letter reads. “We aim to foster an inclusive, welcoming environment and the actions of those at the football camp completely contradict the work we are trying to do.”
The Wrentham Police Department has also been notified of the incident.