WOODSIDE, Calif., Jan. 20 (UPI) -- A California high school basketball coach was present when team members were beaten and gagged in a hazing incident, an attorney for an alleged victim said.
The incident allegedly occurred in early January when the Woodside (Calif.) High School boys' basketball team participated in a tournament during Christmas break in Newman.
Attorney Christopher Dolan said two unidentified boys were attacked by teammates while staying at a hotel, forced separately into chairs and tied to the chairs with duct tape, "battered and bruised" and silenced with tape over their mouths.
Talk circulated on social media one boy's face was painted with lipstick, and a coach forced the boy to watch Spanish-language television, supposedly to learn Spanish, the San Jose Mercury News reported Monday.
The Sequoia Union High School District dismissed head basketball coach Doug Fountain and an unidentified junior varsity coach after the hazing was discovered, school Superintendent James Lianidies said, adding school officials became aware of the incident when students returned from the break.
Dolan is exploring possible legal action against the school district, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
"We trust our children to the school and the coaches. This trust has been violated," Dolan said. "Not only did the head coach give the green light, he participated, and the other coaches did nothing."
