ORANGE (CA)
Daily Beast [New York NY]
May 9, 2022
By Barbie Latza Nadeau
A player at one of California’s most successful high-school football programs says he is experiencing severe anxiety after allegedly being abused in a hazing incident by his teammates. The boy, who has not been named, is one of a number of students who have filed complaints with the Santa Ana Police Department about hazing incidents at Catholic prep school Mater Dei High School in Orange County. The latest complaint allegedly happened last August, when “teammates pulled out their penises and showed them to him while holding him down on the ground. Incident was reported to his coach who then reported it to school officials” a police report states. “One teammate also began humping [victim] from behind with his pants on. [Victim] did not report any injuries and denied penetration. He is now experiencing anxiety due to incident.”
In February 2021, a football player suffered a traumatic brain injury after similar accusations of locker-room abuse that stemmed from a ritual known at the school as “Bodies.” It is not clear if the recent incident was part of that same hazing regime. A former athletic director at the elite school said in a sworn deposition in March that a top Mater Dei official ordered her not to discuss or ask questions about the February 2021 incident, the Orange County Register reported.