A locker room beating that left an Alabama high school freshman with a broken arm has now led to school suspensions and a police investigation. The incident, which a school spokesperson said took place on Friday, involved Davidson High School football players attacking one of their teammates. Video of the incident shows one student on the ground while several others punch him and jump on him, as part of what parents believe is a team hazing ritual.
Mobile Police spokesperson Charlette Solis confirmed to AL.com that officers were investigating the situation after responding to a report of an assault in the area where the school is located. The target of the attack told authorities he walked into the locker room after practice, when one teammate pushed him and then about 20 others started punching, kicking, and jumping on him, Solis said.
The 14-year-old’s parents said their son sustained a broken arm as a result of the incident, but has suffered psychological effects as well.
“He’s mentally traumatized,” the boy’s mother told WKRG. “He woke up in the night screaming and we went to him and he said he thought he was being jumped again. So obviously this has affected him not just physically, but mentally as well.”
She claims her son isn’t the only one who’s been subjected to this sort of thing.
“A parent has reached out to me and told me the same exact thing happened to her son, at the same school, under the same coach’s watch,” the boy’s mother said.
The team’s coach, Fred Riley, has not commented on the situation, which upset the boy’s father.
“Fred Riley has yet to say to say, ‘Mr. and Mrs. Kim, I’m sorry this happened,” the father said.
Investigations by police and the school district are still ongoing, and four students have been suspended so far.
[Image via screengrab]
