Football players settle hazing case over ‘No Gay Thursday’
BERWYN, Pa. — Three suburban Philadelphia high school football players have pleaded guilty to menacing a freshman player with a broom handle on what the team called “No Gay Thursday.”
The 14-year-old freshman did not suffer any physical injury when the players “briefly poked the victim with a broomstick in the leg,” according to a joint statement by Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan and attorneys for the three Conestoga High School seniors in announcing the agreement Tuesday.
That description of the October 2015 episode comes in stark contrast to Hogan’s characterization of it in March, when charges including assault, conspiracy, unlawful restraint and terroristic threats were announced against the 17-year-olds at the school in Berwyn, about 25 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
At that time, Hogan said the victim had been penetrated with the broom handle while he screamed. He said upperclassmen had told younger players to strip to their underwear and clean the team locker room, and the victim had tried to leave, Hogan said.