Hazing complaint prompts investigations into Dundee High School wrestling team
The Dundee High School wrestling team is under investigation after someone reported a hazing incident involving team members, according to Superintendent Scott Leach.
School administrative officials and the school resource officer started investigating in April after Leach received an anonymous complaint about alleged misconduct that occurred while the team was attending a tournament in Kalamazoo last year. They conducted interviews with coaches, wrestlers and parents. During the interviews, school officials discovered videos of hazing, fights, and team members physically assaulting each other, Leach said in a letter to students, staff, and families of Dundee Community Schools.
The district started a Title IX investigation that Thrun Law Firm will conduct.
In an update on Wednesday, May 14, Dundee police said the investigation uncovered other incidents of hazing and assault that occurred on school buses and the locker and wrestling rooms. The investigation into the Kalamazoo incident was submitted to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office.
Leach said all wrestling activities at the school are on hold pending the outcome of the investigations.
Anyone with information is asked to leave a tip here, call OK2SAY at 855-565-2729 or text the state's student safety program at 652729. Tips could also be submitted to Officer John Schiappacasse at jschiappacasse@villageofudnee.net or Officer Joseph Gore at jgore@villageofdundee.net.
"At Dundee Community Schools, we expect our student-athletes to adhere to the highest standards of conduct," Leach said in the letter. "This situation does not represent the vast majority of our outstanding student-athletes who compete with honor, grit and integrity.
Dundee has won eight consecutive Michigan High School Athletic Association Division 3 team state championships and 17 team titles overall. Michigan's boys wrestling season begins on Nov. 17.
