WARREN, MI – Three Detroit-area high school students have returned to class after more than two months of suspension related to a football hazing investigation, The Associated Press reports.
A racial discrimination lawsuit the students filed against De La Salle Collegiate has been settled, lawyer Paul Addis told the Detroit Free Press. One student returned to school on Monday, Jan. 13, while the other two were on campus last week. They were suspended in November after allegations of hazing came to light in late October. The lawsuit was filed in December.
The Warren Police Department has been investigating allegations that De La Salle football players were hazed by other players using broomsticks.
One student provided a statement to the school that he was held down against his will and jabbed, with clothes on, very hard with a broomstick in his rectal area, his legs, and thighs. He named three senior students as the assailants. There was no evidence of penetration.
However, the student refused to cooperate with the police investigation and did not pursue charges.
The case was eventually turned over to the St. Clair County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
De La Salle revealed the hazing allegations in October. The school ended the football team’s season by forfeiting a playoff game. Mike Giannone, who won two state championships as De La Salle’s coach, is no longer leading the team.
“We adhere to a strict student privacy policy and cannot comment on student discipline or attendance,” De La Salle said in a statement Thursday. “This has been a learning experience for our school, and we have made corrective actions to ensure the alleged hazing activities never happen again.”
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