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A former member of the St. Joseph’s University baseball team has filed a lawsuit against the Long Island school alleging that he was stripped naked, physically assaulted and hazed by teammates during a team trip in March.
The lawsuit, which was viewed by The Post, was filed on Monday in State Supreme Court in Suffolk County against Patchogue-based St. Joseph’s University, head baseball coach Thomas Caputo, assistant coach Elliot Robles and 30 unidentified teammates, claiming “a pattern of hazing, bullying, physical assault, humiliation, retaliation, negligent supervision, and institutional misconduct occurring while Plaintiff was a member of the varsity baseball team.”
The complaint, filed on behalf of the 18-year-old victim, alleges several eye-raising instances of hazing and a culture that was known to the coaching staff. The Post is not publicly naming the complainant due to the nature of the allegations.
Among the allegations was an instance where the plaintiff was pressured to “strip naked and stand exposed” in front of his teammates while only being allowed to cover up with a plastic cup, which he declined to do “while other teammates succumbed.”
The lawsuit also alleges that during a university-sponsored trip on March 5, the former member of the St. Joseph’s baseball team was “forcibly attacked” by his teammates. The baseball team’s schedule shows that they were participating in a game in Myrtle Beach, SC, at the time of the alleged incident.
“Among other acts, teammates forcibly placed dirty underwear on Plaintiff’s face and physically accosted him,” the lawsuit stated. “Plaintiff was humiliated, threatened, intimidated, and physically assaulted, was placed in fear for his physical safety, and attempted to defend himself from the attack. A physical altercation ensued.”
The lawsuit contends that adequate supervision was not in place during that March incident, despite insistences by Robles that room checks and supervision of the athletes would take place, according to the lawsuit.
Court filings suggest that an investigation, which included Caputo and Robles taking part, had corroborated the victim’s accounts of what happened and that “defendants Caputo and Robles were aware that Plaintiff had not been the aggressor.”
However, the defendants did not discipline the aggressors, and attorney Mike Della, who is representing the victim, told Newsday that his client was the one who was suspended over the incident, while others escaped any discipline.
Della also told the outlet that the victim was transferring schools and could walk away from playing baseball over the whole ordeal.
Monday’s lawsuit also alleges that this was far from the first instance of anything similar, stating that Caputo had told the plaintiff’s parents during the investigation that in a previous season, players had tried to kick down a hotel door.
“Upon information and belief, on prior team trips, members of the baseball team also engaged in a practice of physically restraining and holding down teammates against their will, and such conduct was known within the baseball program,” the lawsuit alleges.
In a statement to Newsday, the university said it was aware of the suit and that, “while we take concerns raised by members of our community seriously, this matter is currently the subject of pending litigation.
“Out of respect for that process, we are not in a position to comment on the allegations,” it continued.
The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages.
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