An investigation into alleged hazing by the Mt. Ararat High School boys hockey team found a “pattern of behavior” that included homophobic language, teammates urinating on each other in the shower, “humping teammates in the locker room while nude,” the use of sexually inappropriate gestures to taunt others and “other degrading and unwelcome conduct.”
That is according to a summary of investigation findings released this week by the MSAD 75 school district.
Student misconduct identified by the investigation included physical aggression and intimidation, along with sexually inappropriate conduct intended to embarrass or humiliate the targets, according to the summary by lawyer Katy Rand of Pierce Atwood in Portland.
Four members of the team experienced the conduct directly, and the behavior disturbed teammates who witnessed it, according to Rand.
MSAD 75, based in Topsham, suspended the high school hockey team in January following the hazing allegations and hired Lewiston-based law firm Brann & Isaacson to investigate.
District Superintendent Heidi O’Leary declined to say if individuals or the boys hockey program will be disciplined based on the findings that student athletes violated MSAD 75 school district policies related to hazing, bullying and creating a hostile environment.
“Due to the confidential nature of student and employee records under Maine and federal law, I cannot comment on whether any disciplinary actions are anticipated for individuals or the hockey team based on the report’s findings,” O’Leary told the Bangor Daily News.
The Mt. Ararat co-operative hockey team includes students from Lisbon High School and Morse High School in Bath. The Lisbon high football team also faced hazing allegations last fall.
The full investigative report into the Mt. Ararat boys hockey team from Brann & Isaacson has not been made available. In her summary, Rand called the investigation “balanced and comprehensive” and noted that Brann & Isaacson interviewed 31 individuals, including the entire boys varsity hockey team.
The investigation’s early focus was on two alleged incidents on a bus ride home from a game and in a locker room, and Rand’s summary says that the investigation “revealed a pattern of behavior including the use of homophobic language, intentional urination on teammates in the shower, humping teammates in the locker room while nude, taunting with sexually inappropriate gestures, and other degrading and unwelcome conduct.”
The document also includes definitions from school district policy as to what constitutes bullying, hazing and a hostile environment/harassment.
Rand determined that the investigation “confirmed violations of each of these policies by student athletes” in her findings. Those findings were based on a preponderance of the evidence, meaning those findings are “more likely than not” as opposed to the more rigorous “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard used in criminal proceedings.