Upland High School faces hazing allegations involving varsity baseball team
UPLAND, Calif. - A former Upland High School student, who is now homeschooled after allegedly being hazed and bullied by members of the boy's varsity baseball team, is suing the school district.
The student, who we are not naming because he was under the age of 18 at the time, began attending Upland High School as a freshman in 2023 and joined the freshman baseball team.
In his sophomore year, the student joined the Junior Varsity (JV) baseball team. However, the school lacked an on-site baseball field, forcing students to practice at a park two miles away. Coach Aldo Garvick, who oversees the entire baseball program, restricted access to the boys' locker room for the varsity team only, according to the complaint. Consequently, JV and freshman players often had to change outside the varsity locker room or in the dugout, exposing them to alleged hazing by varsity players.
Varsity team members would allegedly take gym bags belonging to JV and freshman players into the varsity locker room. When the younger students attempted to retrieve their belongings, they were subjected to bullying, harassment, and sexual and physical abuse, the complaint alleges.
Despite being aware of these actions, Coach Garvick allegedly ignored the bullying, enabling a culture of harassment. "Coach Garvick’s own son was part of the varsity team making him even more aware of the events that were occurring," the student's attorney, Elan Zektser, wrote in the claim.
"These older kids would take these smaller, younger kids and force them into this locker room where there was no other adults, they would lock the doors and they would do whatever they wanted to these boys," said Zekster.
On February 14, 2024, varsity team members took the student's belongings into the locker room. When he went to retrieve them, he was immediately assaulted and put in a headlock by a varsity player.
"While one varsity player held [the student] down in a headlock, another player dry humped him, and another varsity player pushed a PVC pipe into his rectum area. Video evidence exists to corroborate this story," the claim states. "In fact, varsity members would often record the hazing/bullying and then send the videos over group chat to the entire varsity baseball team."
Following this incident, the student managed to flee after the varsity players turned on the lights and attempted to fight him. No supervision was present to intervene or assist him.
"Obviously [it is] devastating," said the student's mom. "You know you think you take your kid to the school to be protected. He's playing a sport with these kids, and then to find this happen. It's heartbreaking."
The ongoing harassment and lack of support led to the student leaving Upland High School; he is now being homeschooled.
The claim seeks $3 million in damages for the alleged physical abuse, emotional abuse, mental abuse, verbal abuse, assault, harassment, torture, severe neglect and severe bullying while he was a student at Upland High School.
In a statement to FOX 11, the Upland Unified School district said "our district leaders are taking this situation very seriously… The district will continue to take appropriate disciplinary actions as necessary."