Haverhill Superintendent of Schools James F. Scully.
Eight Haverhill High School student athletes were suspended Thursday by school administrators and the remainder of the school’s junior varsity hockey season has been cancelled after an investigation into “hazing like activity which involved locker room boxing.”
In a letter released Thursday, Haverhill Superintendent of Schools James F. Scully informed the school committee a review was conducted by high school administration after officials Thursday morning received “an e-mail from an anonymous individual who claimed to be a school administrator in a Merrimack Valley school stating his knowledge of some unacceptable behavior after a junior varsity hockey practice.” According to Scully, it was determined the alleged activity “did occur.” Scully did not specify the date of the alleged incident.
“There were no adults present as it took place for a brief period in the locker room immediately after practice,” Scully said. “Subsequent to interviews with coaches and student athletes, the Haverhill High School administration has suspended the eight students involved and the athletic director has canceled the remainder of the junior varsity hockey season.”
Scully added the high school administration “takes a very firm posture in regards to any inappropriate activities of our students that reflect poorly on our school.” He said the “inappropriate actions” of a few students were handled in “a swift and firm manner.”
“I have met with the Haverhill High School athletic director and administrative team and reviewed the facts around this incident and I concur with the disciplinary measures taken. It is the Haverhill Public Schools’ first priority to ensure the behavior and demeanor of all associated with the school system be of a high caliber,” Scully said.
What a PC world we have become. Kids can’t be kids any more. True, some situations require discipline but not all. Enough of the wussification of America.
Everyone who has ever played hockey has locker boxed at some point or another. It is even pretty fun and no one really gets hurt.
Whoever posted about systematic violence is a total pansy.
Stop being so soft world!!
Every team I played on locker room boxed from peewee hockey on. You have a helmet and gloves on.. It’s fun believe it or not. I feel for the kids who lost their opportunity to play because of a complete over reaction. The world we live in today is way too PC..
Are you kidding? This is hockey and boys hockey! Its a tough sport. If this was the band class I would understand……but come on HOCKEY??
Careful, you surely cannot be condoning violence in schools, and also that it is appropriate for some students to engage in violence, as long as they are athletes. The roughness of the game isn’t analogous to systematic violence that hazing entails.
Scully is a joke!!!! He passes the buck just like everyone else
If you read the whole thing you would see that it was not scully who canceled hockey it was the athletic director. So why are you bashing on him he has a job to do just like everyone else. He can’t not suspend those 8 kids for fighting but not suspend any other kid who gets in a fight.