Former St. Josephs baseball player, 18, stripped naked, forcibly attacked during teammate hazing: lawsuit
A former member of the St.Joseph’s University baseball team has filed a lawsuit against the Long Island school alleging that he was stripped naked, physically assaulted and hazed by teammates during a team trip in March. The lawsuit, which was viewed by The Post, was filed on Monday in State Supreme Court in Suffolk County against Patchogue-based St.
Joseph’s University, head baseball coach Thomas Caputo, assistant coach Elliot Robles and 30 unidentified teammates, claiming “a pattern of hazing, bullying, physical assault, humiliation, retaliation, negligent supervision, and institutional misconduct occurring while Plaintiff was a member of the varsity baseball team.” The complaint, filed on behalf of the 18-year-old victim, alleges several eye-raising instances of hazing and a culture that was known to the coaching staff.The Post is not publicly naming the complainant due to the nature of the allegations. Among the allegations was an instance where the plaintiff was pressured to “strip naked and stand exposed” in front of his teammates while only being allowed to cover up with a plastic cup, which he declined to do “while other teammates succumbed.” The lawsuit also alleges that during a university-sponsored trip on March 5, the former member of the St.
Joseph’s baseball team was “forcibly attacked” by his teammates.The baseball team’s schedule shows that they were participating in a game in Myrtle Beach, SC, at the time of the alleged incident. “Among other acts, teammates forcibly placed dirty underwear on Plaintiff’s face and physically accosted him,” the lawsuit stated.
“Plaintiff was humiliated, threatened, intimidated, and physically assaulted, was placed in fear for his physical safety, and attempted to defend himself from the attack.A physical altercation ensued.”The lawsuit contends that adequate supervision was not in place during that March incident, despite insistences by Robles that room checks and supervision...