Drury University plans to announce its new anti-hazing policies later this month, an update spurred by allegations from a former swimmer who says team hazing effectively ended his swimming career.
Those allegations came to light in January, when Evan Petrich went public with his story, recounting an “initiation week” during his freshman year at Drury that he says caused him to develop Conversion Disorder and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Petrich mentioned “having dodgeballs thrown at [his] exposed bottom,” being locked in a dark basement with drunk classmates, swallowing a live goldfish and receiving violent chest rubs in his recounting of the initiation week. He now says he has chest pains so severe he couldn’t continue swimming, and that he now must take anti-depressants. You can read more on his story here.
The allegations were serious enough that Drury head coach Brian Reynolds was forced to “step away” from his head coaching duties to help Drury develop a new anti-hazing policy. According to local news agency KY3, that policy is being finalized and should be announced formally later this month. KY3 reports that Reynolds returned to his coaching duties when a Drury swimmer suffered a seizure and died during a practice in February.