A history of hazing: CA high school football incidents emerge year after year
Hazing, an intentional act to ridicule and humiliate a team member on-campus, isn’t a new trend in high school football locker rooms across the state.
It’s happened for years in California, and it rocks a program and a school, including two varsity teams within the Elk Grove Unified School District with recent incidents captured in video clips sent to The Sacramento Bee. The clips show varsity players surrounding a hazing victim with a chorus of cheers.
At least three members of Elk Grove’s varsity football team engaged in hazing of a freshman student on Aug. 28. Video shows players standing in front of smaller student in the school’s locker room and simulating a sexual act, leading to player suspensions but no arrests, according to the EGUSD and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.
At Monterey Trail, cellphone video shows several football players surrounding a downed student in the school’s locker room, getting spanked with rolled-up towels or T-shirts amid cheers.
Here is a look at other football hazing incidents in California in recent years, as reported by The Bee and other news outlets across the state.
Santa Margarita High School, 2024
A player from the Orange County football team filed a lawsuit, alleging he was assaulted by teammates in the school’s locker room, the Los Angeles Times and other news outlets reported.
The school administration in an email to parents wrote that “at least nine” other students had been victims of similar incidents. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department found insufficient evidence to pursue criminal charges.
Oak Ridge High School, 2023
A hazing incident during a team retreat for the El Dorado Hills school led to the suspension or expulsion of several players.
Mater Dei High School, 2021
The powerhouse football program in Orange County was rocked by hazing incidents in the team locker room, including a longstanding tradition called “bodies” in which players punch each other, often with larger varsity ones picking on smaller players.
The scandal led to a lawsuit that was later dismissed and a change in school and football coaching leadership.
West Valley High School, 2020
Football players from the Cottonwood school located in Shasta County included incidents of simulated sexual acts and forced boxing matches between underclassmen and varsity players. The fallout included the resignation of coaches.
At least five former West Valley students who were hazed filed a civil lawsuit against the Anderson Union High School District, and an undisclosed financial agreement was reached in 2022 with the legal case getting dismissed.
Napa High School, 2017
Six football players were expelled and changed with assault tied to hazing of eight junior varsity players on campus, leading to the resignation of longtime coach Troy Mott, who insisted that he did not know of the hazing, according to Napa Valley Register reporting.
School administrators considered shutting down the football program after six men turned down the coaching position. The program resumed play.
Cathedral High School, 2015
Ten varsity football players for the Los Angeles school were suspended after locker-room hazing incidents of five players from the freshman team.
No criminal charges were filed. Six players were later reinstated.
Liberty High School, 2012
Five players from the Brentwood of Contra Costa County school were suspended and permanently removed from the team for their roles in a hazing incident from a summer team camp at Sacramento State.
Varsity players placed Icy Hot pain-relief stick-on patches in inappropriate areas on teammates, KCRA reported. Liberty principal Pat Walsh said then, “We will not tolerate that here. Every student has a right to be treated with respect and made to feel safe.”