Disgusting Mater Dei allegations

Unfortunately, the California Interscholastic Federation’s motto of “Pursuing Victory with Honor” was given another black eye only weeks after Morningside ran up 106 points in a win over Inglewood.

That is downright quaint compared to the news that broke Tuesday afternoon as details were released about a lawsuit slapped on Mater Dei, the No. 1 high school team in the country. The school, and the Catholic Diocese of Orange, are being sued following horrific allegations of a brutal hazing incident that got way out of hand in the spring as the Monarchs prepare to face Servite for the Southern Section Open Division championship Friday night.

How school officials, the Southern Section — and by extension, the CIF — can let the game proceed is beyond me. But it will because both Mater Dei and Servite are national powers playing each other in a game that literally sold out in a couple of minutes and a game that will have the high school spotlight.

The allegations, first reported by the Orange County Register are gross. A longtime hazing ritual called “Bodies” — which was well known to head coach Bruce Rollingon, who, according to the report, told the victim’s father that if he were given a hundred bucks for every time his players “played” the “game” of “Bodies,” he would be a millionaire.

So his claim of not knowing what was happening is a blatant lie.

In this “game,” player face off against one another and sock each other in the midsection as hard as they can, exchanging blows until one side finally gives up.

In this incident, the combat went way over the line, with an offensive lineman destroying a smaller player’s face — literally. According to reports, the victim suffered huge gashes over both eyes, had his nose obliterated which necessitated reconstruction and suffered a significant brain injury that continues to affect him eight months after the alleged incident.

To make matters worse, school officials  — including the school’s coaching and medical staffs — literally did nothing for 90 minutes. No one tended to his injuries. No one called authorities. No one even bothered to call the kid’s parents, for goodness sake.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, after the victim transferred out of the private school, Mater Dei allegedly filed paperwork with the state that would not allow the victim to play sports at the new school. The family has since appealed that and the student-athlete is eligible again.

And yet Mater Dei will line it up Friday and play for a spot in a regional bowl game as the Monarchs continue their quest for a mythical national title.

Mater Dei is not unlike a lot of other high-profile athletic schools who put the goal of winning above any kind of morals to which they may pretend to adhere. The simple thing to do would be to forfeit the game and end the season and then fire the entire coaching staff, along with the medical team. Maybe even take down an administrator or two. What these adults did to these kids is criminal and they should be treated as such. These men — and women? — were tasked with not only instilling life lessons that these student-athletes would take into the real world, they were also tasked with protecting them while away from their parents — and in some cases, protecting them from parents.

Mater Dei failed on all fronts.

Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone involved will do the right thing. The Monarchs will still play for the Southern Section title and maybe, down the road after the playoffs, there will be some kind of punishment. But all in all, the reputation of the school and that of the “revered” head coach will be tarnished and the victim will probably be left with a lifetime of health issues, all in the name of winning.

Disgusting.

Nathan Mollat can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: 344-5200 ext. 117. To report scores or have tips, email sports@smdailyjournal.com.