Westhill HS Hazing | Page 2 | Syracusefan.com

Westhill HS Hazing

jgeorge322 said:
This prank went way too far but people pretending kids didnt do just as dumb stuff back in the day are just fooling themselves.
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If you listen to Fitzpatrick tell the story below, I don’t think you’d be talking like it’s a case of kids just being kids. This was done to terrorize these younger teammates and make them fear they were going to be killed. These kids videotaped it too - so it’s not conjecture nor a case of differing stories on what occurred either.

 
Capt. Tuttle said:
Is it me, or is stuff like hazing ( not this) very much a lacrosse thing?
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I think so. When I was in college our lacrosse did some crazy stuff to their Freshman. Worse I got in on the baseball team was lugging around equipment or running a few errands for the seniors.
 
several people have commented on how any hazing should be light, etc.. kids are dumb. because they're kids and don't have perspective, experience and foresight. ANY hazing is dumb. it creates the exact wrong culture, and an entitled mindset. any coach or pledge coordinator that enables it is an idiot.

everyone is an equal is the way. find your hierarchy another way. my seniors, stars, goal scorers get an equal if not more share of the lifting. to be humble and to lead. it's corny, but the light stuff turns to this type of thing, even if rarely to this degree. if they're not guided to responsibility and accountability and humility, they'll choose the opposite and it can very easily go off the rails. and the culture can suck regardless. earn stripes on the field. we will continue to see these stories.
 
Cheriehoop said:
If you listen to Fitzpatrick tell the story below, I don’t think you’d be talking like it’s a case of kids just being kids. This was done to terrorize these younger teammates and make them fear they were going to be killed. These kids videotaped it too - so it’s not conjecture nor a case of differing stories on what occurred either.

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Honestly, I don’t find Fitzpatrick trustworthy and never have.
 
The part about the knife and gun (whether it's completely accurate or not) is extraordinarily stupid and dangerous. It's so incredibly easy for things to get out of hand and someone to get seriously hurt.

Otherwise, if this was 40 years ago, I don't think people would think this was a big deal at all.
 
jgeorge322 said:
This prank went way too far but people pretending kids didnt do just as dumb stuff back in the day are just fooling themselves.
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Exactly. Thank the lord no one had a video camera around back in the day. Some board members acting holier than thou. They ’ed up. They will pay a huge price. Hopefully they learn from it and more importantly hopefully the kids that were hazed can move on.
 
Cuse4455 said:
As a Westhill Alum this saddens me. Played on the football team and other than carrying the older players pads hazing wasn't a thing...
This really isn't hazing this is just illegal brain dead stupidity...
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Also a Westhill alum and really sad to see this on CNN.com just now. The extent of "hazing" in my days was taking underclassmen to field parties to get drunk and high, have laughs, and run from the cops when they showed up. Think Dazed & Confused. Smartphones and social media have ruined kids.
 
when I played football at Alfred University we had a hazing incident in 1998 that made national news. Freshman were tied up and forced to drink alcohol. I remember arriving late to the party and being the only sober one. I was driving kids home and getting them out of there because it was such a mess. It was pretty stupid and scary. All it takes is a few bad apples that can influence the others. Takes strong kids to say this isn’t cool. This type of party had gone on for years and was taken way too far. The guys who held the party got expelled and were in some serious legal trouble.
 
I'm going back to the late 90's/early 2000's since I'm old now but the hazing I remember in high school was carrying all the water to/from practices and games and in college some of the senior's gave all us freshman/new players bad haircuts that we had to rock at a house party one night at the beginning of the season. I never understood the mindset of hazing to the point that you would try to hurt or break other teammates mentally.
 
Fellow Westhill alum who is just stewing about all this. Hope the kid is ok more than anything and think they need to dismiss the new HC as collateral damage even if he literally had zero to do with specifics.

My out-of-state, LAX-playing kid sees it in the news and texts you “what’s up with your HS?” Sigh.
 
At its essence, this type of hazing is about humiliating and denigrating someone who is in a position of lower power than you. It’s basically beating up on someone weaker. I’ve never understood the gratification that came with that.

There are likely many who go along with it out of fear of being ostracized if they don’t, not because they themselves get a kick out of it. But there are many who truly get off on the humiliation aspect and take great joy in that . Those people are excrement and will go on to raise excrement kids.
 
MadNY3 said:
Fellow Westhill alum who is just stewing about all this. Hope the kid is ok more than anything and think they need to dismiss the new HC as collateral damage even if he literally had zero to do with specifics.

My out-of-state, LAX-playing kid sees it in the news and texts you “what’s up with your HS?” Sigh.
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I’m not sure I follow firing a coach, who is a standup guy, for not having anything to do with teenagers being dumb?
 
This story is now in the top stories area on ESPN.com.

www.espn.com

Syracuse-area high schoolers may face charges for lacrosse hazing

A group of Syracuse-area high schoolers could face charges of kidnapping if they don't turn themselves in to authorities over a lacrosse team hazing prank.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

I find Fitzpatrick's 48-hour thing to be amateur hour. Out of the 11 kids, it's an absolute guarantee that a couple of them were the sadistic ring leaders (I know who it was, and who the father is), and the rest were probably peer pressured to go along with it.

Regardless of when they turn themselves in, the ring leaders should be tried as adults and spend time in state prison. The others should have to do a ton of community service.
 
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Eric15 said:
This story is now in the top stories area on ESPN.com.

www.espn.com

Syracuse-area high schoolers may face charges for lacrosse hazing

A group of Syracuse-area high schoolers could face charges of kidnapping if they don't turn themselves in to authorities over a lacrosse team hazing prank.
www.espn.com www.espn.com

I find Fitzpatrick's 48-hour thing to be amateur hour. Out of the 11 kids, it's an absolute guarantee that a couple of them were the sadistic ring leaders (I know who it was, and who the father is), and the rest were probably peer pressured to go along with it.

Regardless of when they turn themselves in, the ring leaders should be tried as adults and spend time in state prison. The others should have to do a ton of community service.
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And made the ABC Evening News.
 
gmoney44 said:
Exactly. Thank the lord no one had a video camera around back in the day. Some board members acting holier than thou. They ’ed up. They will pay a huge price. Hopefully they learn from it and more importantly hopefully the kids that were hazed can move on.
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This is just my guess, the parents are making a bigger deal about it than the kids. Again, not saying this wasn’t incredibly dumb.
 
STEVEHOLT said:
At its essence, this type of hazing is about humiliating and denigrating someone who is in a position of lower power than you. It’s basically beating up on someone weaker. I’ve never understood the gratification that came with that.

There are likely many who go along with it out of fear of being ostracized if they don’t, not because they themselves get a kick out of it. But there are many who truly get off on the humiliation aspect and take great joy in that . Those people are excrement and will go on to raise excrement kids.
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That’s all forms of hazing…. You don’t haze up the ladder…
 
orange79 said:
And made the ABC Evening News.
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I'm told also NBC Nightly News. Re ABC didn't David Muir grow near that area? Town of Onondaga maybe? There's also a story on the Homepage of The Washington Post with a big photo of Fitzpatrick.
 

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