Acceptance, rite of passage, and tradition continue fueling the age-old practice of hazing, making it prevalent on collegiate sports teams, among Greek life groups and at the high school level despite state and federal laws.
This time, 11 teen varsity lacrosse players from Westhill High School in Syracuse, New York, are accused of plotting or participating in a prank late April – a staged kidnapping that unraveled quickly in what Onondaga County District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick called “criminal activity” and “hazing on steroids.”
Now, one younger player is traumatized , and the older teammates were arrested and charged with unlawful imprisonment in the second degree , all while law enforcement officials try to keep up with the fallout as the tight-knit community attempts to make sense of it all…