Boston College hit with hazing scandal

Boston College has placed its men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams on an indefinite suspension after the university’s leadership found there was rampant hazing in the program, the school announced Wednesday.

The team competes under the same banner under second-year head coach Joe Brinkman, who was an assistant coach at Notre Dame before making the move to Chestnut Hill. The last official team news before the suspension came in April with the announcement of the school’s all-ACC academic awards. The last news from the pool was in March when eight Eagles competed at the national diving championships.

“The University does not — and will not — tolerate hazing in any form,” a school statement read. “During the suspension, all Swimming and Diving student-athletes will continue to have access to academic and medical resources provided to all Boston College student-athletes.”

It’s another example of hazing in college athletics being an ongoing problem, after Northwestern and the University of San Diego’s football programs were accused of hazing earlier this summer.

Earlier this year, longtime Harvard women’s hockey coach Katey Stone retired after accusations of verbally abusing and hazing players came to light. With cameras installed seemingly everywhere in the world and college kids living on their phones, why do college athletes think they can get away with hazing? How involved the coaches at Boston College were in these incidents is unknown at this time, but it shines a terrible light on the entire Eagles athletic program. 

This is a developing story and we will be updating as more details emerge. For more news please follow os on Facebook, Twitter and sign up for our newsletter.