MASSILLON, Ohio — The Massillon Police Department has confirmed that it is investigating allegations of hazing at Massillon Washington High School.
Massillon Police says that it was notified about the incident by school administrators on June 27. The incident, which police say involved multiple juveniles, is alleged to have occurred the previous day.
In a statement, Massillon City Schools superintendent Paul J. Salvino confirmed that the allegations involve student-athletes at the school.
"At the Massillon City School District, the safety and well-being of our students is always our top priority," Salvino said in a statement. "We are currently investigating a situation which involves student-athletes within our athletic program. State and federal student privacy laws prohibit us from providing details, however, it is important to know that our administration is addressing the issue. We will continue to cooperate with the Massillon Police Department in the investigation. We ask our community to respect the privacy of our student-athletes."
In an interview with The Massillon Independent, Salvino said that football operations were temporarily halted after the allegations were first made. Preseason activities have since resumed without some student-athletes present.
Salvino also told The Independent that the incident occurred over a three-to-five day span at city school facilities. Salvino also said that the investigation has yet to determine if the incident officially qualifies as "hazing" and that while some punishments have already been issued and others are still being determined, no student-athlete has been suspended for the entirety of the upcoming football season.
"Many people have thrown out the term hazing but we have not officially determined if the incidents are officially hazing, which is defined in our board policy," Salvino told the paper.
A member of the football team's booster club, who emphasized they are a volunteer and supporter of the team, and not a district employee, said they did not believe anything "malicious" had transpired, and said to their knowledge, no one was hurt.
The member also said it's disappointing something like this would happen to distract from the season, and said the team took the right steps in addressing the situation.
3News also reached out to the Stark County Prosecutor's Office to inquire as to whether the office had received any information regarding the allegation. The prosecutor's office wrote back saying, "We have received information for review pertaining to the referenced case."