Article content continued

Other members of the team, as punishment for the joke, taped him to a pole. The player, hanging from the pole, choked on tape around his neck and lost consciousness, at which point paramedics were called.

Saskatoon police opened an assault investigation after they were called to the practice facility by MD Ambulance around 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 14, according to police spokeswoman Kelsie Fraser.

MD Ambulance spokesman Troy Davies said paramedics took the player to hospital in stable condition. Davies added that he couldn’t release any additional details about the player or his injuries due to privacy laws.

Police concluded that the two alleged assailants had no intention of causing injury and closed the file about a week later, after the injured player asked that they not pursue the matter, Fraser said.

“Now, if at any point the victim wanted to pursue charges, we would reopen the investigation and look into it further,” Fraser said, adding that conducting an investigation is extremely difficult if the alleged victim does not provide a statement.

Fraser would not confirm the involvement of anyone associated with the Hilltops, but added in an email, “There’s information in the (police) report to suggest that Hilltops staff were aware of the incident when we responded.”

The player who was in the clubhouse said two team members have been suspended for the rest of the season as a result of the incident. Sargeant said the two players have not played since the incident.