The Mark Morris boys varsity and junior varsity basketball teams were reprimanded for hazing before two players were arrested on suspicion of second-degree rape last month, according to new information The Daily News obtained in a records request.
However, the victim, who first reported the alleged rape in early February, told police he did not provide all the details of the abuse to school leaders when questioned around the end of January.
While hazing or initiating players may have been considered a common part of school athletics in years past, educational institutions and law enforcement now consider the acts of harm a crime, often aiming to humiliate victims.
The police records reveal unsupervised students, before and after basketball practice and on school property, were targeted.
The two arrested teens are no longer part of the team, online records show.
According to the public records request, the first victim who came forward told police the hazing "started (with) humping us, twerking on us, putting their butts on our faces."
The victim said some junior varsity players “were guaranteed to have a butt on your face," before or after a practice.
The bullying only intensified as the season continued. The words "haze" or "hazing" are used 11 times in the newly obtained 13-page report.
Since the start of the basketball season in the winter, the first victim who came forward said varsity players grabbed junior varsity players into a team locker room. He said he was pulled into the room at least six times.
When interviewed by the Mark Morris school resource officer, a different player who was not arrested said some of the players might have been suspended recently because they were pulling each other's pants down and hitting each other with water bottles.
There are three sexual assault victims total, court records show.
The two arrested suspects used Biofreeze — a menthol-based joint and muscle pain reliever — during the assaults, and also put their genitals in front of the younger players' mouths, the victims told police.
The Daily News obtained 51 photos taken by the police of the locker room, though three photos are fully redacted. One image shows two pairs of boys underwear taped near the ceiling inside the team room with words written on both. Only one pair can be read; it says "MONARCH FOREVER."
It is not clear whose underwear are in the photos.
The issues at Mark Morris aren't isolated.
A 2000 study by Alfred University found 84% of the roughly 1,500 surveyed high school students said they belong to groups subjected to hazing, with 30% reporting illegal acts were included.
Washington state law defines hazing, in part, as when an organization, athletic team or another group commits acts as part of their recruitment that would likely cause physical or emotional harm.
A 2018 Sports Health report states hazing can be a misguided way to strengthen teams bonds, but actually can lead to physical and mental harm and even death.
The victim told police varsity basketball coach Ken Kelly, 50, of Longview, scolded the both the varsity and junior varsity teams for "being immature" about two weeks before his Feb. 9 interview with police.
However, the bullying continued.
The victim told the authorities neither Kelly nor the other coaches were in the area known as the team room when the incidents occurred, the report states.
The report that led to the teens' arrest describes the room an an enclosed space within the men's locker room.
When the door is shut and lights are off, the room is completely dark, the report states.
The victim who came forward believes the coaches had an idea that some type of hazing was occurring within the team room.
However, when called to the office of Vice Principal Charles Beckel, 37, of Woodland to talk to him and Kelly about suspected hazing, the first victim told police he didn't describe the full extent of the abuse. The report says the student was likely embarrassed to explain the details.
Under state law, all school employees are mandatory reporters of child abuse, meaning they are required to inform law enforcement or another relevant agency if they have "reasonable cause to believe a child suffered abuse or neglect."
Still, Kelly's iPad, school computer and his access to the app Hudl — used to analyze game film and monitor players' stats — were confiscated as part of the investigation on Feb. 12, the newly obtained report states.
Kelly has not answered The Daily News calls about these issues since the investigation began in early February.
The two arrested teens, ages 16 and 17, did not play in the last two games of the season and were removed from the official online roster ahead of the final game.
The police reports say these teens committed the most heinous acts.
In addition, three other students are named by the victims as possibly being involved. Because the room was dark during most of the assaults, it was hard for them to always identify people in the room.
Two of those three named players were also removed from the roster.
Mark Morris Athletic Director Jason Mackey has said all questions involving the team must be directed to Longview Schools spokesperson Rick Parrish, who has not provided details on why players were removed.
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, or WIAA, oversees school sports.
WIAA Director of Communication Sean Bessette said in an email that the organization does not set discipline rules for student athletes, other than ejecting players who are joining in derogatory cheers. The WIAA handbook also does not mention rules surrounding athletes suspected of crimes.
After the second-to-last game, which was the Civil War match against Mark Morris on Feb. 5, Kelly said it was the "coach's decision" to have the athletes sit out, but did not specify if it was due to school discipline.
However, Kelly also told The Daily News he aims to build the team's character, not just their basketball skills.
"One thing that I'll get into a pretty healthy debate with people about is my ability to lead a team and me holding a line that's really firm in the sand," he said after the Civil War game. "My job is to continue to work with these young men and create very productive young men going forward and that's exactly what I'm trying to do."
