A distressing video appears to show a former California junior varsity high school baseball player allegedly being hazed and bullied by varsity players, Fox 11 reported.
The video, obtained by Fox 11, appears to show a player in a locker room being forcibly held in a headlock while another comes up behind him and simulates a sex act. After a few moments, a player in a white shirt appears to give the victim a “wedgie.” Players can be heard joking and laughing in the background. What the outlet describes as a PVC pipe appears to be press against him in what was alleged to be sexual assault.
The student, who has not been named because he was under 18 when the alleged hazing occurred, is suing the school district for $3 million in damages for the alleged physical, emotional, mental and verbal abuse, according to Fox 11. He is reportedly also alleging assault, torture, harassment, and significant neglect and bullying in the lawsuit.
“While one varsity player held [the student] down in a headlock, another player dry humped him, and another varsity player pushed a PVC pipe into his rectum area. Video evidence exists to corroborate this story,” the lawsuit reportedly reads. “In fact, varsity members would often record the hazing/bullying and then send the videos over group chat to the entire varsity baseball team.”
A student who began attending Upland High School as a freshman in 2023 and joined the freshman baseball team has left the school and is now suing the district following severe hazing incidents involving the varsity baseball team. https://t.co/YrmAMMglqu
— FOX 11 Los Angeles (@FOXLA) May 29, 2024
According to the lawsuit, Varsity baseball Coach Aldo Garvick restricted locker room access to solely varsity players, frequently leaving JV and freshman players with no option but to change outside or in dugouts, Fox 11 reported. This allegedly exposed them to hazing, according to the outlet.
Varsity students would allegedly steal their bags, taking them into the locker room, the lawsuit reads, the outlet reported. When the younger players would reportedly go in to reclaim the items, the elder students would allegedly bully, harass, and sexually and physically abuse them.
The student’s lawyer, Elan Zektser, alleged to Fox 11 that “the staff and the coaches were aware of the hazing.” Garvick allegedly ignored what was happening, fostering continued harassment, according to the outlet. (RELATED: Middle School Football Players Allegedly Forced To Simulate Sex Acts In Bizarre Hazing Ritual: REPORT)
“Coach Garvick’s own son was part of the varsity team making him even more aware of the events that were occurring,” Zektser reportedly alleged in the lawsuit.
The Upland Unified School district told Fox 11 that “our district leaders are taking this situation very seriously… The district will continue to take appropriate disciplinary actions as necessary.”
