Former players show support for Mater Dei, Rollinson after report of hazing that left football player with brain injury

Mater Dei High School caput manager Bruce Rollinson stood adjacent a statue of the Virgin Mary successful the school’s grotto, a abbreviated locomotion from the shot tract Thursday morning.

Four Monarchs players had conscionable led parents, alumni and fans successful portion of a Rosary astatine the extremity of a greeting that had been some prayerful and profane, portion shot practice, portion pep rally punctuated with speech of the values of the nationally top-ranked shot programme and a schoolhouse whose motto is “Hope, Glory, Love.”

Mater Dei was a day distant from a CIF Southern Section Division I title game showdown with Servite and a changeable astatine a 3rd nationalist rubric successful 5 years. But a crippled that had sold retired wrong a substance of hours this week volition played against the backdrop of increasing calls for Rollinson’s and Mater Dei main Frances Clare’s firings following an Orange County Register study detailing the manager and school’s handling of a convulsive hazing incidental earlier this year.

A existent Mater Dei subordinate punched a teammate, 50 pounds lighter than him, 3 times successful the look during a hazing ritual called Bodies connected Feb. 4 portion different Monarchs players shouted radical epithets astatine the smaller player, according to 2 videos of the altercation obtained by the Register.

The Register is not identifying the players due to the fact that of their ages.

The smaller athlete, Player 1, suffered a traumatic caput injury, a breached chemoreceptor and wounds supra each eye, according to aesculapian records. The Santa Ana Police Department recommended the larger player, Player 2, beryllium prosecuted for felony battery, according to a constabulary report. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office does not mean to record charges successful the case.

The player’s household filed a suit against Mater Dei High School and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange successful Orange County Superior Court connected Tuesday, Nov. 23.

“If I had a 100 dollars for each clip these kids played Bodies oregon Slappies, I’d beryllium a millionaire,” Rollinson told the injured player’s begetter the time aft the altercation, according to a tribunal filing.

But Rollinson said during an April interrogation with a Santa Ana Police Department researcher that the interrogation was “the archetypal clip helium has heard of immoderate of his players participating successful the ‘Bodies’ crippled wherever participants punch each different until idiosyncratic quits,” according to a constabulary report.

Now lasting successful beforehand of a statue of Mary, described lone moments earlier by helium and his squad arsenic “the beatified parent of victory,” Rollinson was asked if Bodies and the actions revealed connected the Feb. 4 videos measured up to Mater Dei’s values?

At archetypal Rollinson stared consecutive ahead, silent.

“I’m not going to marque immoderate comments astatine this time,” helium yet said. “So we’re conscionable going to basal present forever.”

Are you acrophobic astir your job? Rollinson was asked.

“I person nary comment,” helium said. “There’s an investigation.”

Did helium prevarication to the police?

“There’s nary comment,” Rollinson said. “I have, it’s nether investigation.”

Earlier successful the week, Rollinson connected societal media had called connected erstwhile Mater Dei players to be Thursday morning’s practice.

“You recognize the value that this time has connected our squad and you cognize however important the brotherhood is to me. I request you there. No excuses. Just beryllium there,” Rollinson was quoted connected the Mater Dei shot program’s Twitter page.

One by 1 astir 100 erstwhile players walked up to the existent squad assembled and kneeling aft Thursday’s practice, hugged Rollinson, introduced themselves, stated the the twelvemonth they graduated and wished the squad bully luck against Servite, often successful presumption accentuated with expletives.

Rollinson – with the players, existent and former, parents, tiny children dressed successful reddish Mater Dei jerseys and t-shirts looking connected – talked astir the Monarchs household and its traditions.

But 2 videos of the Feb. 4 altercation, constabulary reports, country and different aesculapian records, Mater Dei records, interviews and tribunal filings obtained by the Register rise questions astir the Monarchs program’s purported representation of household and the values of the largest coeducational Roman Catholic precocious schoolhouse westbound of the Mississippi River

During a speech with Player 1’s father, Rollinson told the genitor that helium was successful a “bind” successful presumption of disciplining the different subordinate due to the fact that helium said his begetter was 1 of the team’s unpaid coaches, according to a tribunal filing.

Player 1’s family’s suit alleges negligence, negligence per se-hazing successful usurpation of the California penal code, negligent nonaccomplishment to warn, bid oregon educate, intentional infliction of affectional distress.

Mater Dei trainer Kevin Anderson, aft seeing Player 1’s injuries, “spoke with the administrative unit astatine Mater Dei who told him not to telephone the paramedics and to hold contacting (Player 1’s) parents,” according to a tribunal filing. Anderson, contempt seeing the severity of Player 1’s injuries, did not instantly dainty the subordinate and alternatively continued taping different players’ ankles for practice, according to a tribunal filing.

Mater Dei officials initially declined to cooperate with Santa Ana Police Department investigators, according to constabulary reports. Rollinson and Kevin Kiernan, the school’s diversion director, yet agreed to beryllium interviewed by a Santa Ana Police Department researcher with Mater Dei adjunct main for pupil services Miguel Gutierrez contiguous connected April 21, much than 2 months aft the altercation and erstwhile the Santa Ana PD archetypal requested accusation from the school, according to constabulary reports.

During his interrogation with the Santa Ana PD, Rollinson said “we person nary hazing connected our program. Never have, ne'er will. I’ve been caput for 32 years. Honestly, I’ve ne'er adjacent heard the connection hazing utilized since 1989.”

In a missive to Mater Dei parents and students Wednesday, schoolhouse president Walter Jenkins asked “for your religion and spot arsenic we navigate the process ahead, and kindly petition that you respect the privateness and dignity of each involved.”

On a sun-drenched Thursday morning, dozens of Mater Dei’s erstwhile players virtually stood down Rollinson.

“We’re excited,” Rollinson told the parents, players and fans surrounding him connected the tract earlier helium introduced a supplication and past walked with the radical to the grotto for much prayers. “We had a large practice. We are prepared. We cognize what we person to do. Our absorption is not conscionable connected Servite. Our absorption is to triumph the title time night. That is the lone happening that we attraction astir and we volition instrumentality attraction of concern and we volition assistance that plaque precocious time night.

“All right, let’s bow our heads.”