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“I am Going to Sandusky You”- Former Player Accuses Penn State of Hazing
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A federal lawsuit filed by former Penn State football player Isaiah Humphries claims that coaches turned a blind eye to a culture of hazing in the program.
Humphries names Penn State University, head coach James Franklin, and one ex-teammate as a defendant while accusing three others of orchestrating the abuse. Staffers, he contends, retaliated when he complained about the abuse, which ultimately led to his transfer.
The hazing occurred in several areas on campus, including the Lasch Building, and was observed repeatedly by coaches who didn’t intervene, the suit states.
Humphries says the hazers told underclassmen on the team that they were “their bitch because this is a prison” and threatened them with sexual assault.
“I am going to Sandusky you,” was a threat also voiced by the supposed abusers in reference to disgraced former Coach Jerry Sandusky, who is in prison for molesting young boys, Humphries claims.
He claims his alleged tormenters would wrestle victims to the ground, then shove their genitals in the victims’ faces or between their buttocks and hump them. Those who resisted were bullied, he contends. Hazers also stole their targets’ clothes, Humphries says.
This (alleged) behavior would have been considered normal 25 years ago. “Boys being boys, nothing to see here,” and whatnot.
Of course things are different in 2020, with a big focus on bullying and hazing and anything falling into that family of infractions. And of course Penn State’s reputation is still a divisive topic among local sports fans, even more than five years removed from the Sandusky scandal.
We’ll see what happens here.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com