14 Bros Charged in Fraternity Hazing That Cost a Pledge One Testicle
Fourteen members of a fraternity at a small Ohio college were arrested Thursday night and charged with hazing after their initiation rituals last October ended with a student in the hospital to have one of his testicles removed.
Gamma Phi Gamma, a local fraternity at Ohio's small Wilmington College, put their pledges through a hazing ritual that included stripping naked and performing various demeaning acts in the basement of the "Gobbler House."
According to charging documents, the blindfolded prospective members had to stuff their mouths with limburger cheese while rubbing Icy Hot on their bodies—including their groins. They were then ordered to "fuck a sheep" (which was actually a ball of stuffing).
But that's not how Tyler Lawrence ended up needing emergency surgery to remove one of his balls.
The frat brothers allegedly beat the pledges with knotted-up towels, and one of them hit Lawrence so hard in the crotch that he immediately fell to the ground, clutching the area.
When he went to the hospital—after the initiation—doctors opted to removed the damaged testicle, and also found bruises and cuts on the victim's upper body.
Lawrence actually defended his new brothers in a November interview, saying the ball-smashing was "not hazing."
"It was a freak accident more than anything. It definitely wasn't meant to happen, not hazing whatsoever," Lawrence told WLWT.
Prosecutors disagree, although hazing is only a fourth degree misdemeanor, punishable with a maximum of 30 days in jail.
The fraternity has been suspended since the incident.