A group of wrestlers at Kelly Walsh High School in Casper, Wyoming reportedly ganged up on a freshman teammate, held him down, and forcibly waterboarded him, according to a report from the Casper Star-Tribune:
On Jan. 3, the victim was at practice at the high school. He was being teased by other members of the team, the sources told the Star-Tribune this week, and he responded by winking at them. One of the older wrestlers gathered some other athletes, and together, they decided they would grab the victim in the locker room after practice.
Knowing that the wrestlers were waiting for him, the victim didn’t want to go into the locker room, the sources said. One of his friends offered to walk in and grab his things for him. But when the friend entered the locker room, the waiting upperclassmen refused to let him take the victim’s belongings. They told him that they would hurt him, too, one source said.
The victim walked into the room, and at least three wrestlers grabbed him.
Though he tried to escape, the attackers “yanked him back, and they threw him on a bench,” one of the sources said. “One kid held his legs, two other kids held his arms, they put a towel over his head, and one kid said, ‘Let’s piss in his mouth.’”
The attackers apparently did not piss in this poor kid’s mouth. Instead they reportedly replaced the towel and poured water over their teammate’s mouth and nose until the sound of his choking caused them to stop. The attack was reportedly recorded on Snapchat, and the victim of the attack was warned by the attackers that he would be waterboarded again if he told anyone what happened. The Star-Tribune report, you can probably guess, relies upon two anonymous sources.
Citing privacy concerns, the Natrona County School District offered a limp statement on the event when contacted by the Star-Tribune:
“NCSD is aware of an isolated incident involving a violation of the student code of conduct,” the district wrote in its original statement, sent on Jan. 16. “Upon receiving information regarding the incident, an investigation was immediately conducted. As a result of the investigation, behavioral and student code of conduct disciplinary consequences were implemented.”
Travis Peak, the wrestling team’s coach, reportedly insisted to the victim’s own family that the attack could not have taken place, before later reversing course and offering a limp-dick apology of his own:
“Hello I’m very sorry that this incident has rocked your family so hard and completely changed your mind about the program,” Peak wrote. “ ... I also want you to know that we are doing our best to raise good young men and not just wrestlers. We value character far above anything else. This is a huge setback for ALL of these young men.”
The victim of the attack has reportedly withdrawn from Kelly Walsh. I urge you to read the full report, to be reminded for the million billionth time how shitty and cruel kids can be to each other when the adult world loads them up with bad ideas.