The family of a teenager, who attended Mater Dei High School and joined the football program as a junior, has filed a lawsuit against the school following claims that the boy suffered brain damage from a football hazing ritual.
According to reports, the unnamed teenager, who was active in school sports before joining the football team, participated in a football hazing ritual in February 2021. Dubbed "Bodies," this activity involved newbies of the team who must fight each other until they give out.
The lawsuit claimed that the boy was matched with a player who was 50 pounds heavier than him. Instead of the torso, the teenager was hit in the head and the face during the fight and was later diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury after experiencing cognitive dysfunction, slurred speech, and frequent severe pains. The teen also needed surgery to fix his nose, and he had to go to ongoing counseling due to his physical and emotional trauma.
No Intervention from Mater Dei
The family said that no one from the Mater Dei staff intervened when the boy received punches to the head. No one also offered help after the football hazing ritual ended though they saw that the victim was bleeding.
Instead, the participants were warned "not to snitch" about what went on. Following the incident, videos taken during the fight made the rounds, which showed that the older players were enabling the fight while they shouted racial slurs at the juniors. The victim is white.
According to reports, the teenager's father asked the football trainers about his son's injuries when he came to pick up his son. The lawsuit stated that the trainers insisted that the boy had an accident on a sink in the sports facility's bathroom, yet they could not explain why the parents were called to the school more than an hour after the incident.
On February 19, the father reported the school to the Santa Ana Police Department due to "safety concerns." Initially, head coach Bruce Rollinson declined the police interview, and the other player involved in the fight also refused to cooperate with the investigations.
By April 21, however, Rollison spoke with the police and denied any knowledge of the football hazing ritual. He said that it's the first time he has heard of "Bodies" in his 32 years as the coach.
Because of the direction of the police investigations with the non-cooperative persons involved, the family decided to sue the school and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County in November. Their lawyers cited that the school and the diocese have been negligent in upholding the hazing violations detailed in the state's penal code.
Ex-Players Rallied with the Coach
Meanwhile, the Mater Dei High School football team under Rollinson opened a division championship game with a mass attended by ex-players on November 25. According to East Bay Times, the coach posted a call on social media in the days leading to the games, asking former players to be there to emphasize the importance of "brotherhood." About 100 ex-players turned up to wish their former coach good luck for the upcoming games.
Mater Dei school president Walter Jenkin also wrote letters to the parents and the school community to respect the process since the matter is already under police investigation. The police, on the other hand, reviewed the videos and determined that the bigger player could be liable for felony battery charges with the Juvenile District Attorney's Office. However, no charges were filed since the district attorney believes both boys agreed and consented to participate in "Bodies."
