Mt. Ararat principal lays out plan to move forward from hazing ordeal

Amy Spelke, left, chair of the Maine School Administrative District 75 school board, and Heidi O’Leary, the district’s superintendent, listen to public comments on the investigation into the Mt. Ararat hockey team hazing incident on Thursday. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

TOPSHAM — Before a crowd of parents and others gathered Thursday for the Maine School Administrative District 75 school board meeting, Mt. Ararat High School Principal Chris Hoffman had a clear goal: Turn the page from a hazing ordeal that embroiled the school’s boys hockey team this winter.

“I’m nervous tonight,” he said. “It’s not the public speaking – I do that all the time – it’s that I want to get this right. I want our student athletes to know they have the support of their leaders and their community.”

Hoffman spent several minutes outlining the steps the district has taken and plans to take in a presentation entitled “Ensuring a Healthy, Supportive Athletic Culture at MTA.” It included extra training, more supervision, better communication and team building, and accountability.

He stressed that the process has only begun and he urged board members and those in the audience to work collaboratively in the coming months to ensure success.

Late last month, the school district released a two-page summary of what was learned during a monthslong investigation that began in early January — a pattern of student misconduct that “intended to embarrass or humiliate the target” and violated district policies. At least four students on the hockey team were subjected to hazing that was described as “physical aggression and/or intimidation” and “sexually inappropriate conduct.”

That summary did not include any recommendations for discipline or policy changes, but both SAD 75 Superintendent Heidi O’Leary and board Chair Amy Spelke said at the time that conversations would continue.

Prior to Hoffman’s presentation, during the public comment period before school board meeting, a handful of parents and community members spoke out harshly about the investigation.

Andrea Cram, of Bowdoin, whose son was on the team, said the way it was handled “shattered trust and inflicted real harm.” Cram went on to say that she believes the investigation was not neutral but “leading and manipulative.”

“Efforts to restore the program are appreciated, but they do not undo the damage,” she said.

Andrea Cram, whose son is on the Mt. Ararat hockey team, speaks about her dissatisfaction with the investigation into the hazing incident during public comments at a MSAD 75 school board meeting on Thursday. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

Margaret Schmoll, whose son is a student at Lisbon High School but plays on the Mt. Ararat hockey team, said she was “dumbfounded” by the investigation.

Like Cram, Schmoll said the investigation did not “paint the entire picture.”

“You had no interest in making it right or changing the false narrative that you created,” she said.

Hoffman, O’Leary and SAD 75 board members sat quietly during the public comments and didn’t engage with any speakers, many of whom stayed behind to hear the principal’s presentation.

The hazing allegations surfaced in January and represented the third high-profile case in Maine since 2021. Two senior players, along with head coach A.J. Kavanaugh and assistant coach Todd Ridlon, were suspended during the investigation, although O’Leary repeatedly emphasized that the move was not necessarily an indication of guilt.

Former Mt. Ararat boys hockey coach AJ Kavanaugh, seen here in a file photo from March 2022. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Kavanaugh resigned in February, long before the investigation was completed, and is now coaching a youth team based in Lewiston. Once he resigned, Kavanaugh was no longer part of the investigation. He has declined to speak to the Press Herald about the matter.

His resignation came after Mt. Ararat’s season came to an abrupt end following a game in which parents showed support for a suspended player by wearing matching shirts with his number on them. Some players put stickers on their helmets with the number as well. That public show of support during the team’s senior night devolved into reports of taunting and unsportsmanlike conduct from both adults and players, and it created what O’Leary called at the time “a highly charged and divisive environment on the ice, in the locker room, and in the stands.” She responded by canceling the rest of the season.

The investigation continued and eventually involved interviews with 31 individuals — including all members of the co-op team that includes players from SAD 75, as well as nearby Lisbon High School and Morse High School in Bath — and revealed a pattern of behavior that included “the use of homophobic language, intentional urination on teammates in the shower, humping teammates in the locker room while nude, taunting with sexually inappropriate gestures, and other degrading and unwelcome conduct.”

When the school district released the summary of the investigation’s findings, O’Leary and Spelke said a full report contained confidential information and therefore could not be released. The Press Herald requested the report via Maine’s Freedom of Access Act on the grounds that just because documents contain confidential information doesn’t mean they are exempt from public release. In many cases, sensitive information can simply be redacted. The district, in response to that request, said it “will be reviewing the investigative report with legal counsel to determine whether any portion constitutes a public record under FOAA.”

The controversy involving the Mt. Ararat ice hockey team comes on the heels of two other major hazing investigations involving a Maine high school sports team. Last fall, the Lisbon High School football team forfeited half its season after allegations of hazing surfaced. And in 2021, the Brunswick High School football team ended its season early after officials investigated claims of hazing.

High-profile cases of hazing have occurred in other states as well, including this month in upstate New York, where 11 high school students and members of the lacrosse team face criminal charges for hazing a younger player.

A 2020 study by Ohio University found that 47% of high school students say they experienced hazing in sports before they entered college.

The MSAD 75 school board listens to Ken Stockford speak during public comment at a meeting on Thursday. Stockford, whose son plays hockey for Mt. Ararat, asked the board to help ensure there is a season next year for his son’s senior year. Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald

Some hazing experts, like University of Maine professor Elizabeth Allan, the founder of the research group StopHazing, say more can be done to combat hazing.

“Schools are doing more than ever before to educate about it,” Allan told the Press Herald last fall. “But we still have a long way to go. … It’s easy to say ‘Oh, that’s not a problem here at our school.’ However, the research shows that it’s far more pervasive than people typically think.”

Hoffman said the district plans to partner with StopHazing to study team cultures and develop a plan to prevent problematic behaviors.

“I’m looking forward to working with Mt. Ararat to develop and implement recommendations based on the findings and their knowledge of school dynamics,” Allan said in an email.

The district also said it’s working to restore the hockey team to competition next year.

Because the team ended the season by forfeiting a game, it faces a two-year suspension under rules set by the Maine Principals’ Association. The district has appealed that decision and the appeal will be heard in early September. The last two teams that faced suspensions because of hazing incidents won their appeals.

If and when the Mt. Ararat hockey team returns to competition, though, it no longer will include players fromLisbon High School, O’Leary said in a letter to the community this month. The decision was mutual. Mt. Ararat still plans to invite players from Morse High School.

But some players from this year won’t return.

Jason MacDonald said his son, who will be a senior next year, has transferred to another school because of the ordeal. McDonald wasn’t surprised by any of the findings, and he was glad the investigation happened, but he found it lacking.

“My concern is that there is still no accountability for those in leadership positions,” he said. “There were people who knew about issues with this hockey team even before the season started, and they did nothing.”

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