High school football player hazed, inappropriately touched, lawsuit alleges

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The father of a high school football player has sued Windermere Preparatory School, claiming that his son was the victim of hazing and inappropriate touching by teammates.

The lawsuit claims other players at the private school were also held down without their consent and touched.

The father's attorney said the incident was reported to law enforcement officials and a lawsuit was filed Friday.

Court records said the alleged behavior happened at school facilities over a period of several months, leading up to October.

The allegations are spelled out in a 16-page lawsuit filed against the school and two administrators on behalf of an unnamed football player, who was 16 years old at the time the alleged behavior occurred.

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"He's been accepted to four universities, and now he's in his last year and he's in limbo now," said William McBride, the plaintiff's attorney.

The case claims the school was negligent in allowing a hostile and abusive locker room environment, including allegations that a coach gave players a speech with a theme of "rape and pillage," leading to a Snapchat page with that name and claims another coach chanted before a match, "Rape their mothers."

The most serious accusation is that the player was bullied, hazed and inappropriately touched in his private areas by unsupervised teammates.

Documents said other players were pinned down and became victims of inappropriate contact as well.

"We want to make sure these individuals are removed from the school setting, that there's some type of training that comes in and that my client is compensated for the harm that he has suffered," McBride said.

The school's administration said in a statement that it takes seriously any allegation concerning its students and that it recently launched its own investigation when the father first brought the matter forward. %

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The school said it hasn't been served with the suit yet and will respond to the allegations once that happens.

The school didn't say what the outcome was of its own investigation.

The attorney said the students involved are minors. None of them are named in court records.

He said his client filed a report with the Orange County Sheriff's Office, but deputies wouldn't release the documents because they contain information about juveniles.

Cox Media Group