Superintendent: Schools Took 'Appropriate' Action On Accusations

DANVERS, MA — Danvers Superintendent of Schools Lisa Dana said the district hired an outside investigator "to complete an in-depth independent investigation" into accusations of hazing and racist behavior in the high school hockey program and that it then "addressed appropriate personnel and student discipline."

Dana provided the statement to Patch in response to a Boston Globe front-page story on Saturday that charged the district engaged in a cover-up of player locker room rituals within the program that included racial taunts and the use of sex toys to embarrass players who would not adhere to requests from older teammates.

The district's statement said it was made aware of the actions and behaviors within the program in June 2020 and that they "do not reflect the core values, mission and vision that we seek for our school system."

The district said "all parties associated with the allegations were contacted by the investigator to be provided an opportunity to respond." After the investigation, the district said "appropriate" discipline was handed out and additional support training was implemented for students and staff.

"We do not tolerate and will continue to address racist, sexist, homophobic, anti-Semitic language and actions," the statement said.

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The Boston Globe contended in the story that its attempts to gain information on the district's response to the accusations were repeatedly ignored or highly redacted, and constituted a "cover-up" within the district.

According to the story, players within the program engaged in "Hard R Fridays" in which players were hit in the face with a plastic sex toy and "Gay Tuesdays" in which players were told to take off their clothes and then inappropriately touched in the dark.

It also included accusations from a former player within the program that racist jokes and taunts were used during the rituals, a rolling graduation parade and a text chain among players.

The story said Danvers Police Chief James Lovell investigated the incidents as well, provided the accuser with an opportunity to press charges — which was declined — and determined the police "ultimately do not have any reason to believe any criminal behavior occurred at this time."

Stephen Baldassare, a school resource officer, took a leave of absence as the varsity head coach during the 2019-2020 season and was not rehired when the hockey position was posted the following summer. According to the Globe, he denied any knowledge of the incidents to investigators.

"We continue to move forward as an equity-seeking district," Dana's statement from the district said. "It is important for us as community leaders and educators to help our students realize the power of their words and decisions while providing them an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and become productive, responsible, caring citizens of the community."

The Danvers School Committee's next scheduled meeting is Monday night. As of Monday afternoon, the agenda had not been updated to include any response or discussion of the accusations.

North Shore NAACP Branch President Natalie Bowers told Patch the revelations, while disturbing, are not entirely surprising and are more emblematic of attitudes and actions in the region than many realize.

"Every single town 'wants' to move the dial and address systemic racism, but none of us actually know how to do that," she said. "Admittedly, It's a lot of work and we all have food to put on the table. There are so many reasons of convenience why things are the way they are. One of them is the fact that our population has lived in segregated, homogenized lives for over 400 years, so a majority of our population doesn't even understand what the problem is.

"They can't fathom how People of Color live in the 'Other America' in comparison from the privilege others experience on a daily basis. When we say privilege, we aren't saying that white people don’t suffer economically. What we mean is that they are not exposed to discrimination based solely on the color of their skin in addition to other life challenges."

The Globe report said the district has revised guidelines to help ensure locker rooms are now supervised by staff and coaches at all times.

"The Danvers Public Schools are committed to moving forward with providing an inclusive and respectful environment in our schools, at our after-school events, and in our community," Dana's statement to Patch said.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)