[JohnnyB]

Back when I played rugby for university during undergrad, there was hazing. I had played competitive team sports my whole life and it was the first time I had encountered hazing rituals. I didn't feel too bad about it at the time as I made a laugh of most of it, but there were things that happened that I imagine could have left some lasting emotional scars for some guys or at the very least some awful memories.

At the time I just saw it as part of the culture. We were also all adults, and the coaches weren't the ones who initiated any of the worst stuff, though they a part of some of the embarrassing stuff. In retrospect, I don't believe any of it was necessary at all for us to come together as a team. Some friends and teammates suffered needlessly out of it.

I've since spent my career throughout my adult life working in the area of developing young people and I have no patience for abuse of power. If abuse of power is part of the culture, then the culture needs changed and people who don't want it to change or who actively perpetuate it need to go. People in power have a responsibility to protect the young people in their charge. Anyone doing the opposite deserves to be shamed and to lose their place in the community.