Five American football players from the conservative evangelical institution Wheaton College are facing charges after they were accused of assaulting a teammate in a 2016 'hazing' incident that allegedly left the victim stranded while half-naked with two torn shoulders.
The Illinois-based college released a statement following the issuing of arrest warrants for five of its Division III football players this week, saying: 'The conduct we discovered as a result of our investigation into this incident was entirely unacceptable and inconsistent with the values we share as human beings and as members of an academic community that espouses to live according to our Community Covenant.'
The statement continued: 'We are profoundly saddened that any member of our community could be mistreated in any way. This incident has prompted our Board of Trustees to engage outside experts to lead a campus-wide review of the level of effectiveness of our anti-hazing policy and of the culture around how students treat one another in our campus communities, athletic teams, and organizations. Wheaton remains committed to providing Christ-centered development programs and training to all our students.'
The five student athletes are accused of engaging in the malicious hazing – a type of assault that varies in nature – of a former freshman teammate in 2016 in which the victim was restrained with duct tape, beaten and left half-naked on a baseball field, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The athletes that have been charged with with aggravated battery, mob action and unlawful restraint were named as second-team All-American centre Kyler Kregel, defensive lineman James Cooksey, offensive lineman Benjamin Pettway, defensive lineman Noah Spielman and linebacker Samuel TeBos.
All five men have now been suspended from sports and given a week to turn themselves into authorities.
The school has so far refused to say what disciplinary measures were taken after it discovered the incident last year, though it claimed to have taken 'swift action' and 'a range of corrective actions'.
Its statement said: 'When this incident was brought to our attention by other members of the football team and coaching staff in March 2016, the College took swift action to initiate a thorough investigation. Our internal investigation into the incident, and our engagement with an independent, third-party investigator retained by the College, resulted in a range of corrective actions. We are unable to share details on these disciplinary measures due to federal student privacy protections.'
Wheaton College added that its fully cooperated with the police investigation. 'To not impede the law enforcement investigation, the College was bound by confidentiality and unable to share more information until now,' it said.
According to the Christian Post, Wheaton College revised its anti-hazing policy in 2014, which requires a 'formal review' of the policy every year with its students.
The college concluded in its statement: 'Despite these deeply troubling charges, we have experienced positive changes on campus, including rapid responses from campus leaders to reports of hazing or other inappropriate behavior and effective disciplinary review.'
The Chicago Tribune did not name the victim but reported details of the incident. The victim told investigators that he was merely watching television in his dormatory room on March 19, 2016, when his teammates barged in and allegedly punched him and wrapped his legs and arms in duct tape.
The attackers then reportedly put a pillowcase over his head and led him out of the dorm and into a car, where he was held down by at least two players. The victim alleged that his abductors joked that he had been kidnapped by Muslims who wanted to rape him. He was later beaten and dumped on a baseball field.
Another player was later reportedly dumped on the field in similar fashion, and the two of them were found by classmates who came looking for the second player.
The Chicago Tribune reported that after returning back to the dorm, the victim drove himself to a hospital, where he was diagnosed with muscle tears in both shoulders. He later needed surgery to repair his shoulders.
The victim, who has since left Wheaton College, told the newspaper: 'This has had a devastating effect on my life. What was done to me should never occur in connection with a football programme or any other activity ... I am confident that the criminal prosecution will provide a fair and just punishment to the men who attacked me.'
Sources told the newspaper that the men were required to perform 50 hours of community service and also write eight-page reflections on their actions.
However, it is unclear if the players were ever suspended from the team. The Chicago Tribune noted that three of the players played in last Saturday's game, though the college said yesterday that they were now suspended.
As the Christian Post pointed out, this is not the first time that Wheaton College players have hit the headlines.
In 2015, Wheaton football players gained notoriety by participating in a parody of a Martin Lawrence and Will Smith film, Bad Boys II, in which they dressed up like Klu Klux Klan members and carried confederate flags.
