As Massillon’s head football coach Nate Moore remains on administrative leave, JMN is learning new information about the alleged hazing incident that has led to his suspension.
According to Massillon police reports obtained by JMN, four Massillon football players are currently being investigated for a hazing incident that alleges them of tackling a teammate and stripping him naked.
The Massillon Police Department was contacted by Massillon school administrators about multiple hazing incidents on June 27 that happened during “downtime” of a football practice on the indoor football field.
It’s alleged that multiple football players participated in a game where 6 or more players would rush one player who “let their guard down.” The report alleges that the players would pin the unsuspecting player to the ground and take an article of clothing from them. This alleged hazing incident happened to multiple players, most of which escaped without losing a piece of clothing.
The victim in the incident was caught off guard and did not have an opportunity to escape, the report alleges. Multiple players wrestled him to the ground and pulled on his clothing, which resulted in the football player losing his flip flops and shorts and was naked from the waist down.
Another student-athlete filmed the incident on Snapchat. The player who filmed the incident on Snapchat admitted to Coach Moore that he recorded it but deleted it once he realized the hazing victim was naked.
All of the alleged victims and four alleged suspects in the incident were interviewed by police.
Although the victims told police they did not believe there was malicious intent, the Massillon Police Department reiterated the incident is under police investigation and may be submitted to the prosecutor’s office for consideration.
The victim in the report and his mother requested that charges not be filed against the alleged suspects because they are still friends with the victim. The mother told police “I wish it was still 1980 when we didn’t have to scrutinize youthful stupidity like this.”
In the report, the victim told police that the incident happened on his birthday. He said he expected “birthday shots” which could include getting tackled, hit, smacked, pinched or any kind of rough physical contact for the purpose of celebrating.
The football player told police that all was normal except for his shorts being stripped down. He said he was upset in the moment because he was laying on the indoor football field naked but said he wasn’t mad after the incident. He said “it got out of hand” but he “didn’t feel any type of way towards his friends.”
The alleged suspects were interviewed by police. They admitted to tackling their teammate and wrestling with him, but none of them admitted to stripping him naked from the waist down. Police informed the alleged suspects that surveillance footage was being reviewed and criminal charges may apply if any new footage or witnesses dispute their claims.
