Details into Lisbon (Maine) hazing investigation released

The Greyhounds forfeited their final four games of 2024 season; Hazing incident could lead to a 2-year ban

Details have emerged about the hazing investigations surrounding the Lisbon (Maine) varsity football team, which forfeited the final four games of its 2024 season. / Lisbon High School

The Lisbon Greyhounds football team of Maine forfeited their final four games of the regular season due to two separate hazing investigations, which led to the school's decision to suspend all football related activities

Just a week ago, Lisbon Superintendent of Schools Richard Green put a final end to the team's season, last week, when he announced the team's season finale, scheduled for last Friday, would also be forfeited.

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Lisbon football hazing investigation could lead to a two-year varsity ban

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Now a week later, details into the hazing investigations have been released, according to documents released online.

The Lisbon School Department, shortly after announcing the suspension of football activies, informed the school community that it had hired an "outside agency" to investigate the hazing incidents. That very investigation has already led to seven players being removed from the football team.

The following is a summary of the various findings of possible hazing activities, as reported by the law firm Drummond Woodsum in a investigation memorandum sent to the Lisbon School Department:

The Cage Door

The locker room was built in 2014 and divided into two distinct areas by a chain link metal fence with a swinging door in it (made of the same fence material). The first area, nearest the entrance, is for junior varsity players (it may also be used by students during the school day, but the locker room is generally locked then according to Mr. Spaulding and the PE teacher). Players refer to the second area as "the cage." It is the group of larger lockers farthest from the entrance that ar for varsity players only.* Those lockers are accessed through the door in the fence. This door cal. be unlocked from the inside without a key, so players can freely exit, but it can only be unlocked from the outside with a key. When the door is fully opened and pushed against the adjacent row of lockers, it creates a closed triangle gap.

Most players reported that the cage door was frequently opened all the way and pushed against the adjacent lockers to trap players in this triangle gap, and many players recalled seeing it happen this season to specific players. A few names were most consistently mentioned as either pushing against the cage door or being trapped behind it. Primarily, underclassmen or first-time players were reportedly trapped by upperclassmen.' Sometimes, multiple players pushed the cage door and sometimes only one player pushed the cage door. Players recalled that occasionally the cage door would be tied to the adjacent row of lockers so that the trapped player could not "escape." One freshman said he escaped by climbing up the cage and out on top of the lockers. Other times, the trapped players were required to "say the password" or were only released because somebody said it was time to go to practice (it was unclear whether that was a coach or a player, but every coach said they were unaware of the cage door being used in this manner). Upperclassmen described being similarly trapped during previous football seasons (and some mentioned it happened in other sports as well).

Multiple players also reported that a wooden broom handle (without any bristles) was sometimes used to poke the player who was trapped. Numerous players identified a specific underclassman this season being poked in the stomach, back, and butt by an upperclassman, whom they would not identify. A player described this wooden broom handle and where it was usually kept. When we looked there, we found a stick matching that description in an upperclassman's locker.

Leather Belts

Players consistently described at least two different one-on-one fights/battles with leather belts in the locker room. They described players whipping each other with leather belts in the locker room while the rest of the team cheered it on. It was not clear how many times this occurred, but at least two pairs of players were consistently identified as being seen on a video recorded by a player and posted to their "Football 24" Snapchat. Many players told us which player recorded the video, but we were unable to obtain a copy, and they did not admit this to us.

Eyewitnesses recalled that a hit from the belt sounded like—and looked like—it hurt. Many said that an underclassman had a visible mark on his back and/or his arm from an upperclassman's belt. Many players identified a fight between a freshman and a junior and some recalled a fight between two underclassmen. Although players described this as consensual, some players recalled upperclassmen announcing who would "battle" and egging them on, while others stated that the students volunteered. Two players recalled that a teacher walked into the locker room, and they stopped. That teacher recalled hearing the players being very loud on one occasion and telling them to quiet down but did not see what they were doing beforehand and only remembered them being rowdy.

Wrestling

Team members also recounted wrestling matches between players before practice. These allegedly occurred in the locker room and outside of it. Some players stated that team members volunteered to wrestle, while others stated that someone was creating matchups and egging them on like the belt battles. Some explained that players were just grappling, others stated that they were competing for the first takedown, and others described wrestling until someone tapped out.

Some players stated that this was "all in good fun" and for "bragging rights" - there was no punishment for losing.

Freshman Duties

The vast majority of the team reported that freshmen and first-year players are expected to carry the team water jugs, water bottles, and equipment, including equipment bags from the school to the field for the rest of the team. Some players (older and younger) referred to these as the "freshman duties." Multiple players, both underclassmen and upperclassmen, said that older players tell the underclassmen to carry gear. Although some stated that if the underclassmen don't carry the equipment, someone else will do it, freshmen identified some upperclassmen in particular as being bossier and requiring them to carry the equipment. We were told of a team "jobs list" posted in the locker room that assigns jobs to all members of the team, and not just to underclassmen, however no players mentioned this list to us.

Although it was not apparently related to freshman duties, players consistently recounted seeing one freshman being stuffed headfirst into a garbage can in the locker room by a junior this season.

Throughout the investigation, even in conversations where they called these activities "consensual" and "fun," players described a hierarchical relationship between younger and older players. One stated that sometimes "it felt like the upperclassmen were picking on us." Others explained that "seniors do punk on the freshmen sometimes" and "tell the freshmen to suck it up." Although most described the general culture as one of upperclassmen picking on the newer players, one player was consistently described as "giving underclassmen a hard time more than others" and a few others were consistently described as instigating the above activities. Most of the players who were subjected to the cage door or the belt fights would not immediately mention these incidents to us. If they did confirm what happened to them, they were quick to say they weren't offended or hurt. This is notable because, for example, it contrasts with their teammates' eyewitness accounts of how it looked and sounded like it hurt to be hit with the leather belt. It also reinforces a stigma attached to male victims and shows how difficult it was for any players on this team to speak up during or after the above incidents. When asked if any of these incidents were reported to any coaches, one player stated they did not report them because they were afraid of the consequences, which also suggests they knew these behaviors were inappropriate. Furthermore, the team used Snapchat instead of the coaches' Facebook groups to share the videos they did not want others to see. This provided a way to share incriminating videos of teammates participating in the hazing in a manner that allowed the videos to be deleted soon after they were shared with the group. This also suggests they knew these activities were unacceptable in the locker room. 

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