14 DAY TRIAL // A freshman and member of the football team at Northbridge High School in Massachusetts has taken part in a hazing ritual which involved drinking urine.
According to My Fox Boston, other football players made the student drink it after he lost a "sled pad" race in the locker room. They had met up for a practice session on August 19.
The unnamed student was given a jug, which they claimed contained water, and told to drink it. After tasting it, he realized that it also had urine inside and he spat it out.
Principal Michael Gauthier informed the police but the student refused to press charges. As a result, the boys will not be prosecuted.
“The Northbridge Public School District takes all incidents of hazing seriously, and follows strict protocols whenever an incident occurs. We do a thorough investigation, and apply appropriate consequences that match the seriousness of the situation.
“We also report the incident to the police as required by law. The law prohibits us from releasing any names or details of the incident, or commenting on the consequences that were given to student,” Superintendent Nancy Spitulnik said in a statement.
Athletic Director Al Richards tells the Telegram that the incident has been turned over to the school.
“This was investigated and handled last Tuesday. Done. [...] They’ve been handed their penalties; they’re serving their penalties,” he says.
He confirms that the parents refused to hand over the teens to authorities. The students responsible are juniors and they have been dealt suspensions from school and an unknown number of football games.
“The parents of the so-called victim don’t want anything to happen. [...] It was kids being kids. That’s their attitude. End of story,” Richards adds.
“There was an incident that came to our attention through the school. We interviewed the victim and parents of the victim and they chose not to prosecute criminally. We honored their wishes,” Police Chief Walter J. Warchol clarifies.