A former St. Joseph’s University baseball teammate has filed a lawsuit alleging he was stripped naked and assaulted in a brutal hazing last March.
Filed Monday in State Supreme Court in Suffolk County, the lawsuit alleged “a pattern of hazing, intimidation, physical assault, humiliation, retaliation, negligent supervision and institutional misconduct” that occurred during the plaintiff’s participation on the varsity baseball team. At least 30 unidentified teammates are alleged to have participated in the hazing that became known to head baseball coach Thomas Caputo and assistant coach Elliot Robles, according to the New York Post.
“Among other acts, teammates forcibly placed soiled underwear in plaintiff’s face and physically harassed him,” the lawsuit states. The plaintiff was humiliated, threatened, intimidated and physically attacked, feared for his physical safety and attempted to defend himself from the attack. “An induced physical altercation.”
The incident allegedly occurred on March 5 when the team was traveling to a game in Myrtle Beach, SC.
“The lawsuit contends that there was no adequate supervision during that March incident, despite Robles’ insistence that room checks and athlete supervision would be conducted, according to the lawsuit,” the lawsuit said. New York Post.
“Court documents suggest that an investigation, in which Caputo and Robles participated, had corroborated the victim’s accounts of what happened and that ‘defendants Caputo and Robles knew that the plaintiff had not been the aggressor,'” he added.
Although the lawsuit alleges that Caputo and Robles promised to investigate the incident, the plaintiff’s attorney, Mike Della, said news day that his client received a suspension while others faced no disciplinary action. Plaintiff also began transferring schools and has been considering quitting baseball altogether.
The university said in a statement that it takes “seriously the concerns raised by members of our community. This matter is currently the subject of pending litigation.”
“Out of respect for that process, we are not in a position to comment in detail on the allegations. The University does not agree with the allegations and will address them through the appropriate legal process,” he added.
