Haverhill High School in Massachusetts has canceled the rest of its football season after a video surfaced allegedly showing members of the team hazing a teenage boy in the locker room. According to a report by MassLive, the school has placed several members of the football team's coaching staff on paid administrative leave while an investigation is conducted.
The video shows three boys, one of whom is wearing a Haverhill football T-shirt, dragging another individual across the locker room floor. A fourth boy wearing only underwear is then seen twerking on the victim's face while the other boys holler and cheer.
"The investigation is ongoing and significant material was uncovered today which impacts the direction of the investigation and the entire school community," read a statement by Haverhill Public Schools. "Haverhill Public Schools will not tolerate hazing, harassment, or retaliation in any form. Any such misconduct will be responded to swiftly and it will undoubtedly have lasting repercussions for all of those involved."
Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini also spoke about the incident, interrupting a vacation to issue a statement calling for the boys involved to be permanently removed from the football team. Fiorentini stated that he plans to be briefed further on the matter by phone on Thursday and then over the weekend when he returns from vacation.
Haverhill has since canceled its final game of the season, which was supposed to take place on Thanskgiving Day against Lowell High School. Lowell will be credited with a win via forfeit.
