Truman State Basebal Hazings Result In Suspensions, Loss Of Scholarships

Truman State University baseball players involved in an alcohol-related hazing incident last month face suspensions and loss of some of their athletic scholarships.

Jerry Wollmering, athletic director, and Dan Davis, head baseball coach, this week told the 17 players they will miss games next spring and lose scholarship money. The length of the suspensions will vary based on each player’s involvement with the hazing.

Wollmering said the incident involved competitive and “excessive alcohol drinking.”Nearly all the players were underage.

“It is clear the intention of the baseball team … was to put a group of younger players under the control of the older ones,” Wollmering said Friday. “This is not what our athletic program represents and actions of this nature are unacceptable to our coaching staff.”

Names of players were not released. Kirkville police said their investigation of the incident Aug. 23 continues.

Davis called the athletes “good kids who made poor decisions” but said their behavior was dangerous and “deserves serious disciplinary action.” He learned of the incident and alerted the university.

“It was a hard thing for him to do to come forward and report an incident that involved his whole team,” Wollmering said. “But he did the right thing. Had he not, we might be in a worse situation, one in which we would not have a coach.”

Their actions, he said, will affect the Bulldogs’ entire baseball season.

National research estimates 1,700 alcohol-related deaths of college students each year. The school plans educational programs about the dangers of alcohol abuse.