Wall High School Football Hazing Victims Blame School In New Lawsuits

WALL, NJ — Years after a locker room hazing scandal rocked Wall Township High School, two victims involved have filed lawsuits that name the Wall Township Board of Education as defendants, according to court documents obtained by Patch.

Each lawsuit (one filed on Feb. 28 and one filed on March 6) cites a failure of the board and school staff to protect the victims from hostile or dangerous school environments.

The lawsuits come after a hazing investigation at the high school in 2021, where half a dozen football players were accused of trying to pin down a younger player in the locker room, and video surfaced that showed one of the players holding a mop or broomstick.

In the lawsuit filed on Feb. 28, one of the victims (who was a member of the varsity football team at the time) describes being “forcibly restrained” in October 2021 by multiple teammates who “engaged in egregious and inappropriate conduct,” including grabbing at his genital area and attempting to take off his pants.

The incident was recorded on video, according to the lawsuit, and “subsequently disseminated among the student body, throughout the school district, and across the broader Monmouth County community,” which further subjected the victim to humiliation, emotional distress, and reputational harm.

Though the lawsuit claims coaching staff and other school personnel were in or near the locker room at the time, the lawsuit said “no reasonable efforts were undertaken to prevent, intervene in, or respond to the attack.”

In the March 6 lawsuit, a second victim describes a similar situation occurring when he was a 16-year-old sophomore at Wall High School and a member of the varsity football team.

On Oct. 27, 2021, the lawsuit said the victim was in the boys’ locker room before the team’s daily practice when he “fell victim to the predatory and vile acts of sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying, and assault and battery by several of his teammates.”

According to the lawsuit, the victim was forcibly held down by several members of the team while other teammates held him up by both his arms and legs “while trying to insert a broom into his anus.”

Though the victim tried to break free from his teammates’ grasps and call for help, court documents said no one intervened to protect him, and that video of the incident was then circulated throughout the high school’s student population.

Since then, the victim has and continues to suffer damages such as humiliation, stress, anxiety, trauma and emotional distress, the lawsuit said, causing him mental, physical and emotional anguish and dysfunction.

“New Jersey public schools and their staff have a duty to provide an environment for students to not only engage in academic curriculum, but to partake in extracurricular activities designed to build academic, social, and physical skills,” the lawsuit said. “They also have a duty to protect students from discrimination and harassment, and they must take preventive, corrective, and remedial measures should such an issue arise.”

Patch has reached out to the Wall Township Board of Education for comment.

After news of the hazing incidents surfaced in 2021, charges were filed against “a number” of Wall High School students, including hazing, attempted criminal sexual contact, criminal sexual contact, false imprisonment and harassment, though some of the most serious criminal charges were later dropped as part of a plea agreement.

Wall High School employees were also placed on leave in connection to the hazing allegations, and the football team was withdrawn from the NJ State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) playoffs.

During a heated school board meeting in November 2021, one board member resigned, and a number of students and high school alumni also recounted the harassment and bullying they had previously experienced.

During the meeting, a 1997 graduate told the board that he was a victim of two locker room assaults and only told his parents about one of them for the first time after reports surfaced of the 2021 hazing investigation.

Another alumna, who graduated in 2020, told the board she witnessed stories of racism, homophobia, sexual assault, and more “on a frequent basis.”

"It's obvious to all students and alumni that these recent situations are not isolated tragedies," she said. "They instead speak to a larger corrupt pattern of administration, shrugging off incidents in order to save face and protect those who they deem their most valuable."

When the administration learned of the hazing rumor, Superintendent Tracey Handerhan said "The school immediately contacted law enforcement and appropriate state agencies," according to Patch's previous reporting.

Previous Coverage

• Broomstick Used In NJ High School Hazing Incident: Report
• Hazing Charges Filed In Wall Football Locker Room Incidents
• Sex Crime Charges Dropped In Wall Football Hazing Scandal: Report
• Wall High School Employees On Leave Amid Hazing Probe: Report
• Amid Hazing Probe, NJ High School Alumni Recall Culture Of Harassment