Oak Ridge High School football players suspended, expelled, under investigation for hazing
Oak Ridge High School, the El Dorado Union High School District and local law enforcement are investigating a hazing incident within the football program during a team retreat before the start of official fall practice.
Several players have been suspended or expelled, The Sacramento Bee has learned, casting a shadow over one of the powerhouse programs in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section. School started Monday on the El Dorado Hills campus. The team is scheduled to host Sheldon on Friday night in a scrimmage before kicking off the season Aug. 18 at home against Spanish Springs of Nevada.
The California Interscholastic Federation, the state’s governing body for high school sports, is not involved in the investigation process as this is a school and district issue.
Oak Ridge principal Aaron Palm told The Bee on Tuesday night: “As a principal, any time something that happens that should not happen, you have to look at it and take whatever steps needed to make the situation right. We’re investigating it and we’re not 100% through with it. We are going through all the facts, and we’re determined to go through and look through all angles. There is no one player or any team here that is beyond being held accountable. It’s not what we’re about. When these things happen, we’re determined to stamp it out.”
Palm issued a statement to Oak Ridge football families last week. It reads: “As some of you may be hearing, there was an incident involving members of our football team that has resulted in the involvement of local law enforcement. Please be assured that we are aware of the incident, are taking appropriate steps to investigate the facts, and will take appropriate disciplinary action where warranted.”
The statement continued: “Conduct of the type alleged to have occurred has no place in our school community, and we are committed to maintaining a safe, and inclusive environment for all students. Due to the privacy rights of the individuals involved, we are unable to go into further detail at this time. We do, however, wish to reaffirm our school community’s values of honor, integrity and compassion. In addition, we will be training our student athletes on their role in ensuring a team environment where everyone is respected and valued.”
The statement concluded with: “We appreciate your understanding, cooperation, and patience as we work towards a resolution. Together, we can ensure that Oak Ridge remains a safe and nurturing environment for all.”
Palm said he speaks to several people a day about the alleged incident — parents and members of the community.
“I try to assure them that this is not what we represent,” Palm said. “I can show people a million examples of Oak Ridge students doing remarkable things here. It’s unfortunate that we have to deal with this, but something happened, and we own it and we will hold people accountable.”
Palm has been an administrator at Oak Ridge since 2006 and the principal since 2016. He said he takes the good and bad news on his campus personally because he takes his role and mission personally.
“If we don’t have our credibility, we don’t have anything,” Palm said. “I’ve lived here for 17 years. I’m vested here. I’m local. This is my town, my place, my school, and it’s where I’ll hang it up. We’ll get this right.”
Oak Ridge coach Casey Taylor said he could not comment, though he did say after his team’s intrasquad scrimmage on Friday, “I know this isn’t what we’re about as a football program or a school.”
