14 DAY TRIAL // The entire lacrosse team at Cornell university has been suspended over hazing the freshman class. The newbies were made to drink alcohol in a dare.
All team members were in on a beer drinking competition for freshmen, described on the university website as a “keg race.”
Freshmen, who were all under the legal drinking age, were made to drink beer in large quantities until they felt ill. Cornell spokesman John Carberry detailed that incident took place on September 13.
“On September 13, the Cornell men's lacrosse team was placed on temporary suspension pending appropriate sanctions for a team hazing incident,” Cornell Athletics director Andy Noel adds in a statement relayed by Daily Mail.
During the initiation ritual, newbies would be banned from leaving the gathering, even after experiencing nausea and vomiting.
“The freshmen were told to stand in a circle and were tied together with string that was passed through their belt loops. They consumed a large quantity of alcohol to the point at which multiple members vomited,” school officials add.
Coach (Ben) DeLuca is also under fire for allowing the hazing ritual to carry on. University officials explain that they are trying to fight the “culture [...] of treating new members as less than equals.”
“Following investigation into the incident, Coach (Ben) DeLuca and his team were notified that all fall competitions are canceled. [...] Effective today, the team will resume training and practice in accordance with sanction guidelines,” Noel comments.
He mentions the September 28 game against the Iroqois National Team as being canceled.
“Hazing practices are harmful and antithetical to our values as a university and our commitment to student-athletes. [...] They have no place in Cornell athletics.”
“We need our upperclassmen to model the high level behavior we demand from our student-athletes at Cornell,” Noel informs.