Haverhill superintendent says football hazing video not an isolated incident
HAVERHILL - The superintendent of Haverhill schools said a video showing alleged hazing on the high school football team was not an isolated incident.
At the school committee meeting Thursday night, superintendent Margaret Marotta said many players were part of the misconduct or aware of it.
Students told WBZ-TV the victim is a freshman at the high school. They say a video made the rounds at school last month, showing apparent lewd behavior by football players as the student was dragged on the ground. When that video got into the hands of the administration, they shut down the season, including the Thanksgiving game.
The district has disciplined those involved and expects more punishment to come. Individual safety plans are in place for impacted students and there is counseling support for anyone who needs it.
"It saddens me that because of this conduct our entire school community will suffer," Marotta said.
"We're being stripped from our senior year events that we have all looked forward to very much especially after losing almost two years of school and normal events from COVID we shouldn't have to lose this again," said Haverhill senior Morgan Flaherty.
The Essex County District Attorney's office is now involved in the investigation.