The Wilfrid Laurier men’s baseball team has filed an appeal against the university’s decision to suspend the team following a hazing incident earlier this year, according to Fran Smyth, a lawyer and parent of one of the team members.
The team was suspended four games earlier this season because of a rookie initiation party. To minimize the suspension, the team made a presentation to the university’s athletics director and the interuniversity athletics co-ordinator apologizing and pledging to raise awareness of hazing-related issues.
“We want some changes instituted so that no other team or player at WLU ever has to go through this type of treatment ever again,” Smyth said, adding that the university mishandled the entire hazing complaint and that players were treated “very badly” during the process.
After the appeal process is over, more information about what happened between the team and the school will be available, she said. Smyth said she hopes for an appeal decision by December.
“It has been a long, slow process,” she said. “Hopefully in the end we will get the outcomes we want.”
