21 High School Football Players Suspended Following Hazing Tradition That Ended In The Emergency Room
21 players from the prominent Alamo Heights football team have been suspected for their heinous hazing acts that left one in the hospital.
21 players from the Alamo Heights Independent High School football team are suspended for their involvement in hazing rituals that landed one player in the emergency room. The Alamo Heights police department is currently investigating the situation to determine if criminal charges should be considered. This stemmed from what was supposed to be a common hazing tradition that got out of hand, and district officials are asking the public to avoid “jumping to conclusions.”
So what exactly happened during the hazing ritual? The Alamo Heights football team members were brought to the baseball fields and stripped naked. They were then encouraged to dip cookies in hot sauce and hold them between their butt cheeks and race to the end of the field. Those who dropped their cookie were told to eat them.
Players began flinging hot sauce onto some of the participants. Afterward, the Alamo Heights team members went to a party where those being hazed were encouraged to strip to their boxers and give the cheerleaders lap dances. None of the coaches or administrators knew about this tradition. They have committed to teaching their players responsibility and hope to be able to better direct them in the future.
Alamo Heights parents have responded with shock and frustration. The Alamo Heights Community Alliance is calling for a “zero-tolerance policy,” to be instituted. Others believe that bullying conditions have improved in the area and pointed out that because the area had dealt with bullying issues in the past concerns are serious.
Despite this, other criminal hazing rituals have fared much worse. Although one student did suffer burns from the hot sauce, this incident did not involve some of the riskier situations that have endangered the lives of sports players and even led to death. The main Alamo Heights players involved in this hazing tradition are suspended for two games, and other “participants” who willingly allowed the behavior to take place will have to sit out for one game.
The Alamo Heights team will play their first game this Friday. How the suspensions will affect the team’s outcome is unknown, but they ranked 13-1 last season and finished as a class 5A team in the regional finals. Team members who are hopeful for another successful season must bear the weight of this punishment before they can move into the season with a fully functioning team.
While hazing rituals are not uncommon, many communities — like Alamo Heights — have been cracking down on them for years. Concerned parents and educators want these behaviors prevented and shut down. Yet, this forces teens and young adults to carry out their acts in secret causing the practices to be more harmful without gaining needed medical attention soon enough should a member become injured or ill.
For now, none of the Alamo Heights football players were seriously injured and those involved in the hazing incident have been punished. How school officials work to prevent future incidents is unclear. What is known is that teens and young adults continue to test each other through hazing traditions and parents who oppose this need to discuss the risks with their children and be aware of their whereabouts.
