OCDA Spitzer Punts on Mater Dei Hazing Scandal

Both the OC Register and the Los Angeles Times have delved into the culture of hazing on the Master Dei football team — currently considered the top high school program in the nation — focusing on a lawsuit with a former player who engaged in a hazing ritual called “bodies” and was beaten viciously by a teammate causing a traumatic brain injury, a broken nose and severe injuries to his face.

LA times columnists Bill Plaschke openly questioned why head coach Bruce Rollinson and principal Frances Clare still have jobs.  The Archdiocese of Orange is silent on this matter.

Hazing is a crime in California.  Penal Code §245.6 makes it illegal to participate in initiation activities that are likely to result in serious bodily injury to a current, former or prospective student. If charged as a felony, hazing can be punished by as much as three years in California state prison.  And OCDA Todd Spitzer has seen all the videos and decided no crime had occurred.  Spitzer punted on First and Goal from the one.

Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer issued the following statement on November 30:

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office does not normally comment on investigations involving juveniles. However, the facts surrounding the situation that occurred in a Mater Dei High School boys’ locker room involving two teenage football players has been so erroneously reported by the media we have no choice but to correct the record and provide the accurate facts. 

Neither player involved in this fight was made to participate against their will. Other players in the locker room were seen milling around, playing on their phones, and largely uninterested in the punches being thrown by two of their teammates. The participants knew they were being filmed and they started throwing punches. Some punches landed; others did not, but it is unequivocally clear that both participants attempted to land as many punches as possible.

There is not a single shred of evidence to show that this was anything other than a mutual combat situation with two willing participants who traded blow for blow, including repeated punches to each other’s heads.

That does not make it acceptable. But it is not a crime.

At no time did one of the players in the fight tell the other player to stop, even when the punches became head shots and attempted head shots. When another player said stop, both players stopped throwing punches. 

Two boys on the Mater Dei football team engaged in behavior that betrays the values of youth sports. CIF, the governing body of high school sports in California, has the motto “Dedicated to developing student-athletes of character.”

What happened in the Mater Dei locker room on February 4, 2021 is nothing anyone should be proud of and it falls short of the kind of character any of us should wish for our children.

This incident has been thoroughly investigated by law enforcement and reviewed blow by blow by the most experienced prosecutors in my office to see if we could prove a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. (Assault?)

We cannot.

Schools must remain safe places for our children to thrive and learn – and to develop the character that we want to see in all of our children. Watching two children trade blow for blow in a locker room environment should be unsettling for everyone. It was for me.

And as the elected District Attorney of Orange County, I have and will continue to protect our children from harm. The safety of our children is all of our responsibility.

At this point, there is no evidence of hazing or any other crime that we can prove beyond a reasonable doubt.

As the Orange County District Attorney, I have and continue to be willing to review any and all information related to this incident and any incident involving potential hazing in our schools. Hazing in any form is unacceptable and if I can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that anyone – whether a player, a coach, or a school administrator – has engaged in or condoned hazing, I will hold them accountable.

First of all, if its a hazing ritual, as “bodies” appears to be, consent is reluctant at best but expected.  And once blows starting going to the smaller player’s head, it’s assault.  How would Spitzer react is knives were involved? Guns?  The player’s race isn’t mentioned, but might be there a racial element here?  When Todd Spitzer says he will protect our children from harm, he’s full of crap.

Mater Dei has done a number of terrible things too.  No one got the smaller player 2 emergency medical treatment.  Rollinson tried to explain away this hazing ritual to Player #2’s parent.  The player transferred out of the program and Mater Dei took the extraordinary step of denying him the ability to play sports at another school.  The school leaders wouldn’t initially cooperate with Santa Ana Police, who urged the DA’s office to file felony charges.  Spitzer refused.

How long as “bodies” been going on?  Slugging your teammate in the gut repeatedly until they drop is beyond stupid.  Mater Dei has since announced they will launch an internal investigation into the incident.  Newsflash: they’ll admit nothing and might slap the coach on the wrist.  The CIF is also investigating.  I actually hope the Monarch’s recent CIF title is stripped from them as a result of this school’s football culture where the only thing that matters is winning.

Time for Spitzer to go.

The Liberal OC spoke with Democratic candidate for OCDA Pete Hardin Tuesday; he told us he has received more phone calls about this story than any other case since his campaign has begun.  He issued this statement:

Former Marine Judge Advocate and candidate for District Attorney, Pete Hardin, called for additional investigation into battery, hazing and child endangerment charges and pledged to reopen the Mater Dei High School case if elected.

“The public is rightly concerned with DA Spitzer’s decision to reject police recommendations to file felony charges, and to do so without requesting further investigation,” said former Marine Judge Advocate Pete Hardin.  “For a physical altercation to be considered ‘mutual combat,’ the combatants must have both participated willingly. Yet just one party escalated the altercation far beyond the ridiculous game, ‘bodies,’ causing broken facial bones and a traumatic brain injury–and only one party continued to batter the other as they stood still with blood streaming down their face. The DA’s decision not to charge the crime of hazing without any explanation also comes as a shock. 

“Equally concerning to me as a parent is the lack of any investigation into Coach Bruce Rollinson for child endangerment.  Rollinson admitted to being fully aware of the ongoing, violent, ritual hazing, and yet allowed it to continue. That puts every kid on this team in danger. As a parent there’s no chance I would let my son participate in a football program when the coaching staff willingly subjects the young men under their care to such an unreasonable risk of harm.

“The DA should immediately request further investigation. If he fails to do so, and if elected in June, I will review this matter to determine if charges are appropriate. Baffling decisions like these issued with virtually no explanation contribute to the crisis of faith and trust in our criminal justice and policing systems. DA Spitzer has turned the DA’s office into a black box, and that undermines effective democratic governance. We need transparency from our leaders and our public institutions.”