Two former members of suburban Lake Zurich High School’s football team have sued Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 in federal court, alleging that they were subjected to sexual assault and degrading behavior as part of the team’s hazing rituals, according to Chicago Tribune.
The suit was filed Feb. 1 and also names various coaching staff and school officials as defendants. Among the allegations in the lawsuit were that team members were forced to urinate on and perform oral sex on one another. It further alleges that the behaviors can be traced back almost two decades while staff looked the other way. Other school teams had their own hazing traditions, the suit said.
The plaintiffs are seeking anti-hazing education for school staff and students, the implementation of a database tracking hazing rituals and damages in excess of $50,000.
Two team coaches went on administrative leave for unstated reasons in November and subsequently resigned. Another will leave at the end of the year.
Lake Zurich police and the Lake County State’s Attorneys Office both investigated the allegations but no charges were brought. A probe from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is still open.
Chicago Tribune’s article is at trib.in/2ksOMpM.