Is there a better way to promote team character and camaraderie than by sinking one's teeth into the flesh of a younger member of the program? How about having several teammates take part in chomping down on the newbie? How about biting hard enough "to break the skin"? Yeah. That's it. Now we're talking. That's how you bond, bruh. Just like they've apparently been doing for years on the baseball team at Florence Township Memorial High School in South Jersey.
The jig, however, appears to be up now that a friend of a recently bitten "sub-varsity" player reported what happened to school officials.
Four Florence High School baseball players are suspended and the head coach is under investigation by district administrators after a sub-varsity player was held down and bitten by other players as part of an alleged hazing incident approximately two weeks ago, two sources familiar with the incident said.
The sources confirmed that at least one sub-varsity player was restrained by other program members and bitten. One of the sources told the Times the bites were severe enough “to break the skin.”
One source called the biting “a ritual that has gone on for years.”