It started with a shove in the hallway at Lisbon High School.

A police officer assigned to the school was asked to investigate after a student complained, something that happens regularly in schools.

Two days later, Superintendent Richard Green suspended all football activities. The team forfeited its game that night against Mountain Valley.

It was more than just a shove.

During his initial conversation, the resource officer learned about a gathering on Aug. 24, before school started, during which a student was rumored to have been assaulted. Some of the students were members of the football team. Through the interview process, more allegations surfaced about incidents in the locker room during the school year. A loaded word was introduced into the conversation: hazing.

For the last two months, the town of 10,000 people in Androscoggin County has been enveloped in controversy that’s been amplified by two things: officials’ hesitation to share details publicly because juveniles are involved, and rampant speculation on social media that filled the information void.

“I really want to (talk), but I’m tracking what’s being said on social media and there is no way,” one parent told a Sun Journal reporter. “I need to protect my kids.”

The August incident was referred to the town’s police department as a possible crime. The school department, meanwhile, hired an outside firm to investigate broader concerns about hazing.

Before either of those reviews were completed, seven players were removed from the football team. The rest of the season’s games were forfeited.

The independent review, completed in late October by lawyers at Portland law firm Drummond Woodsum, found what its authors characterized as a pattern of troubling behavior coupled with an unwillingness by many players to volunteer details or share evidence.

A month later, the local district attorney’s office announced that it would not bring any charges.

District Attorney Neil McLean explained that his office was charged with investigating the incident from August, and not whether there was a broader problem of hazing within the school’s athletic program. His initial statement about closing the case made little mention of hazing, he said, because that was not his jurisdiction. Hazing itself is not a crime. When asked about it in a follow-up interview, McLean credited Drummond Woodsum “for doing a thorough analysis intended to identify and hopefully effect change in the current culture.”

Green, meanwhile, said his department is still reviewing the report and determining what changes might need to be made to ensure something like this doesn’t happen again. It’s the first time in his more than two decades as a top administrator that he’s had to handle something of this nature.

“This has been challenging and stressful on the community,” he said in an interview.

Now that the investigations are over, people around town don’t want to talk about what may have happened in the football locker room. Some bristle when asked. It’s not clear if the ordeal has divided the community or united it.

RUMOR MILL

Each fall, in small towns across Maine, high school football serves as an anchor, an opportunity for the community to come together.

It’s true in Lisbon, where the football team has had some recent success under Coach Chris Kates – a class D state championship in 2019 and a runner-up finish in 2022.

Kates was hired in 2017 after serving as an assistant for eight years to longtime coach Dick Mynahan. He’s a 2005 graduate of Lisbon High, so he’s been around the program since he was a teenager.

The 2024 season was a mix before it was upended – two narrow wins sandwiched around a pair of lopsided losses.

According to emails obtained through a public records request, Green notified school committee members early in the afternoon on Oct. 2 that administrators were looking into allegations of hazing. It was two days before the football team was scheduled to play Mountain Valley.

A little more than an hour later, Kates sent an email to high school administrators that said, “as a preliminary measure, I’m holding out all of the named students from this Friday’s game.” Those names were redacted from the records.

“After Friday, I’ll reevaluate based on the school’s investigation and whatever discipline is handed down on top of that,” Kates wrote. “You have my complete support in the matter.”

No details were public at that point, but by the following morning, it seemed that many of the school’s 350 or so students were talking, although it’s not clear if it was about the August incident or the hazing.

In an email to staff with the subject line “Rumor Mill,” Lisbon High Principal Susan Magee wrote, “I wanted to inform you that there are some rumors surfacing amongst the students today. As you can imagine, this has quickly become the ‘game of telephone’ with people adding their own twist to the information we received.”

Magee encouraged teachers to “squash any student conversations that may be discussing this.”

That afternoon, according to records, athletic director Chris Spaulding and Green participated in a Zoom call with Mike Burnham, executive director of the Maine Principals’ Association, the organization that governs high school athletics. Asked later about that Zoom meeting, Burnham said Lisbon officials shared that there was an ongoing investigation, “and we talked about consequences for forfeitures.”

By Friday morning, though, the team was still preparing for its game. Spaulding sent an email to Kates asking for an updated roster “without anyone who is no longer with the team.” Spaulding planned to send that to Mountain Valley so that they could be printed ahead of the game.

Something had changed by lunchtime.

Spaulding, in his first year as Lisbon’s athletic director, sent a community-wide note saying that because of an ongoing investigation, all football activities would be canceled until further notice. Any questions should be directed to Green.

FORFEITS AND SUSPENSIONS

Some parents emailed Green almost immediately.

“The rumor mill operates at lightning speed. Game canceled… Zero explanation to families,” wrote one parent.

Added another: “I think the parents need some briefing on the matter and (sic) to why all the players are being punished if they aren’t involved in whatever is going on.”

Green did his best to respond.

“Please be assured that the decision to cancel the game and all football-related activities was based on the seriousness of the allegations that were just revealed today,” he replied to one parent on Oct. 4. “When and if we are able to share these details I believe that you and the other families will understand why we took the action that we did.”

Speculation continued to swirl online.

By Monday, Oct.7, the school department had hired Drummond Woodsum to investigate.

“Like many of you, this news has been very difficult to hear as the Lisbon and Lisbon Falls communities have always had a strong commitment and sense of pride in their schools and our athletic/co-curricular programs,” Green wrote in a letter to the community. “It is a direct result of having this trust that we are committed to and engaged in conducting a thorough investigation into all matters regarding these hazing allegations.”

Green acknowledged that his inability to share details has created both confusion and frustration.

“Unfortunately, this has also contributed to the increasing amount of misinformation being shared on social media and other outlets,” he wrote.

Green later explained that the decision to hire Drummond Woodsum was to ensure a thorough and independent investigation.

“It was pretty delicate, so we thought it better to hire professionals,” he said.

Separately, the Lisbon Police Department was investigating the summer incident – although it’s not entirely clear if the people involved in that were also involved in any locker room hazing.

Although officials shared no information, community members continued to talk, especially about that summer incident. Jen Theriault, of Lisbon Falls, told the Sun Journal last month that her daughter saw a video that reportedly depicted what some would consider sexual assault. Neither school nor police officials have commented on any video.

On Oct. 9, Green announced that a second game would be forfeited.

The next day, seven players were suspended from the team, presumably the same group that was going to sit out the Oct. 4 game. Their names have not been made public.

“We were confident from our information that (the removal of players) was warranted,” Green told the Press Herald at the time.

PARENTS FRUSTRATED

The following week, Lisbon police Chief Ryan McGee said his office turned over its investigation to the district attorney’s office to review and decide whether any charges would be warranted. His detectives made no recommendation for or against charges.

That same night, the school committee held a meeting. Some parents spoke up.

At that point, two lawyers from Drummond Woodsum had begun interviewing students for the school department’s internal investigation. Two investigations were happening simultaneously.

Corrinne Turner was upset that her son was interviewed without her knowledge. She said her son began struggling at home and at school after athletes on the football team were singled out in front of classmates for interviews about the alleged hazing.

“He had no idea why he was being questioned. … He was very upset, very emotional and he thought he was going to jail,” she said.

Lori Ballard, mother to a freshman football player, criticized school officials for not sharing information about game cancellations with students first.

Ballard also said her son was pulled from class to be interviewed about the alleged hazing without her permission or knowledge.

“They’ve been pitted against each other, accused and in some cases ridiculed in public forums,” she said.

A third game scheduled for Oct. 18 was forfeited the day after the school committee meeting.

Green said he hoped the school investigation might happen fast enough to resume football operations before the season ended. That’s one of the reasons he forfeited one game at a time.

By the following week, it was clear the team would not return to the field in 2024. The final game scheduled for Oct. 25 was forfeited, too.

Because of the four forfeited games, the team could have to sit out of competition for the next two years, based on guidelines set by the Maine Principals’ Association.

INVESTIGATORS CONCLUDE HAZING HAPPENED

The Monday after what would have been the team’s season finale, school committee members were given an eight-page report prepared by Drummond Woodsum.

It was the first time any details were released publicly. In the report, lawyers concluded that hazing “occurred among the Lisbon High School football team this season and possibly prior seasons.”

Incidents included players whipping one another with leather belts, at least once until bruising occurred; one incident of a freshman student being dumped headfirst into a trash can; and multiple instances of players being trapped behind a chain-link metal door and poked with brooms by upperclassmen.

But the lawyers also detailed limitations in their investigation.

“It is clear that the players universally wanted to be seen as being unfazed. … Although they said they were willing participants, they obviously did not want adults to find out about these activities.”

Many of the players resisted providing specific details, and some looked visibly nervous during the interview, the lawyers said. They added that teachers overheard players telling their teammates not to share details during their interviews.

The authors of the report, Tom Trenholm and Kelsey Cromie, declined to be interviewed and instead referred all questions about their work to Green.

Parents and community members responded to that report with a mix of outrage and defensiveness.

Elizabeth Allan, a University of Maine professor and founder of the research group StopHazing, said the reaction from some parents is unsurprising.

“It’s a really tough and disappointing situation if your child has to deal with consequences if they weren’t directly involved,” she said. “But it’s a reality of being on a team. If a team wins a championship, not everyone plays or contributes, but the whole team still gets to celebrate.”

She also said it’s quite common for hazing investigations to suffer from gaps in details, as was the case in Lisbon.

“Friendship and belonging is so important at that age,” she said. “Even people who want bad behavior to be addressed don’t want to be the ones to share that.”

NO CHARGES IN SEPARATE POLICE INVESTIGATION

Nearly a full month passed before the district attorney announced that his office had reviewed the police department’s investigation and conducted follow-up interviews.

Nothing they found supported criminal charges related to the August incident, he said.

“Much of what was disclosed was self-described by involved juveniles as ‘horseplay,’ ‘goofing around,’ and the incidents all involved voluntary participation,” he said in a written statement.

At the time it seemed as though McLean’s description differed substantially from what Drummond Woodsum’s lawyers found, but in a follow-up interview, McClean explained that he was never asked to investigate or comment on hazing.

McLean said the allegations laid out in the Drummond Woodsum report “are rightfully concerning to parents who have had or continue to have kids attend the high school. We can all empathize with them. Hazing and bullying should never be part of any student’s academic experience, and we should never accept nor condone such behavior.”

Asked if he was convinced his investigators got the whole story in light of what Drummond Woodsum’s lawyers said, McLean said he was confident.

“We asked appropriate and tough questions, we listened, Lisbon Police Department pursued all leads, and we respected the information we received,” he said. “We do not create victims or crimes; we follow the evidence to its proper conclusion.”

HAZING STILL TOO COMMON, EXPERT SAYS

The allegations of hazing at Lisbon High School are not unique.

A high school football coach in New Mexico resigned this fall following hazing allegations involving his team. He had been on leave while an investigation was conducted. Some students were suspended but no charges were filed.

The hazing incident happened in the locker room and allegedly involved players holding down a teammate while one player put his genitals in the teammate’s face.

At a school district in southern New York, the football team canceled the remainder of its football team’s season amid an investigation of alleged locker room violence that left one student injured.

In Rochester, Illinois, some underclassmen football players were lined up at a fence and then shot with airsoft guns, among other incidents of hazing that occurred at players-only gatherings. The coach was suspended for one game.

Other high-profile hazing incidents occurred in Virginia, Ohio, Colorado and Texas.

The most recent public case in Maine was in 2021 involving Brunswick’s football team.

An investigation into allegations of hazing at a preseason team retreat revealed that a player was held down and a sex toy was put into his mouth. That led to the suspension of players, the cancellation of several games and the firing of longtime coach Dan Cooper.

Allan, the UMaine hazing expert, said there is far more going on than is reported. She was the primary author of a landmark national study of student hazing in 2008 that found 47% of college students were hazed at some point in high school. She and others are in the process of updating that study now.

Allan also said it’s common in the aftermath of hazing allegations to dismiss incidents as “pranks” or “initiation.”

“It’s common for people to think about hazing only in its extreme forms – if someone dies or is injured,” she said. “But those aren’t the only impacts.”

Allan said she doesn’t really have a sense of how high-profile incidents of hazing might impact a community long term. Brunswick seems to have moved on from its controversy three years ago.

“For students involved, we definitely know it can stay with them years,” she said. “That’s why it’s so important to pay attention to getting students support if they need it. It’s like any kind of abuse, if help isn’t there, it can sometimes manifest in other behaviors later.”

WHAT’S NEXT FOR LISBON

Two months after the allegations first surfaced in Lisbon, townspeople are reluctant to litigate the details. They just want to move on.

Outside the library last week, an older man replied sharply when asked what he thinks: “Leave those kids alone.”

A woman pumping gas at the EZ-Mart, which sits across the street from Lisbon High School, declined to provide her name because she has a daughter at the school.

“It was the big topic of conversation for a few weeks, but I think it’s died down some,” she said. “I don’t think people here have any interest in being known for this.”

Numerous school committee members, Town Council members and the state representative for Lisbon did not respond to messages and emails from a reporter. Many parents and players also declined to speak or didn’t respond to media requests.

In a text message to a Sun Journal reporter, Kates said he has “a lot to say,” but “now probably isn’t the appropriate time for me.” He added that the school’s communication with him has been “abysmal at best,” and that he’s gotten no assurances his contract will be renewed.

At a school committee meeting last month, Spaulding, the athletic director, updated members on some changes. Locker rooms would be supervised at all times. Trash cans have been bolted down. And the department is pursuing hazing prevention courses for both coaches and student-athletes.

Green stressed that the school department’s work is not done. Officials are still considering recommendations that will ensure something like this doesn’t happen again.

As for a return to football, that’s up in the air.

Burnham, the director of the Maine Principals’ Association, said rules don’t allow forfeits. If they happen, teams must sit out for two years unless they are granted an appeal.

“I think that they’re still working on determining next steps, and if that’s the next step, we’ll work with them and they’ll have the opportunity to move an appeal forward,” he said.

Green said the school department does plan to appeal.

In the meantime, he said he’s tried hard to stay away from the conversation on social media. He understands that parents and members of the community are still upset, and he understands that he’s the one who will hear it. That comes with the job.

“My primary focus is on the students,” he said.

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