5 Football Players At Evangelical College Face Felony Charges In Harrowing Hazing Incident

By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 19, 2017 3:18PM



Wheaton College

Five football players at Wheaton College, a conservative Christian evangelical school in west suburban Wheaton, face felony charges over a harrowing alleged hazing incident that happened last year.

The players are accused of dragging a freshman teammate from his dorm room on March 19, 2016. He was punched and duct taped around his bare legs and wrists after he kicked and screamed, the victims said in a statement to investigators, according to the Tribune. He said he was then thrown into a vehicle, held down by at least two players while they "played Middle Eastern music and made offensive comments about Muslims," as the Tribune recounts. They allegedly told him he was being kidnapped by Muslims.

The players then tried to sodomize the victim with an object, and he was beaten when he pleaded for them to stop, he told investigators. When it was all over, he said he had been left on a baseball diamond, half-naked on a 45-degree night, his cellphone taken, with muscle tears in both shoulders. He has since required two surgeries.

The five football players—James Cooksey, Kyler Kregel, Benjamin Pettway, Noah Spielman and Samuel TeBos—face charges of aggravated battery, mob action and unlawful restraint. They are getting ready to turn themselves in on Tuesday, according to ABC7. Their bonds were reportedly set at $50,000.

The school said in a statement that they immediately launched an internal investigation once they learned of the accusations, and trustees brought in experts to review Wheaton College's anti-hazing policy. But details of punishments were not disclosed, with college officials citing federal privacy laws. Several players were ordered 50 hours of community service and had to write an 8-page essay, sources told the Trib.

As the Washington Post notes, the evangelical Wheaton College has found itself embroiled in other controversies in the recent past, including a 2015 skit that involved KKK costumes and the case of former professor Larycia Hawkins, who was suspended after she wore hijab and posted that Christians and Muslims worship the same God.