Lawmaker plans to lead ‘charge for change' after off-campus hazing by Marcus football players

Lewisville ISD found the incident met the definition of hazing and a history of hazing among a group of players.

There is growing outrage over a hazing in Denton County that was caught on camera.

The off-campus incident led to an investigation by Lewisville ISD, which found the incident met the definition of hazing. The investigation also found a history of hazing by a specific group within the Flower Mound Marcus High School football team.

Tuesday, parents of a Marcus High School varsity football player spoke publicly for the first time with NBC 5 about the hazing their son endured.

“I was just shocked,” said Texas State Rep. Ben Bumgarner, who represents District 63.

Bumgarner says he found out about the incident when NBC 5’s report aired Tuesday and contacted LISD Superintendent Dr. Lori Rapp.

He says he plans to lead a charge for change.

 “It feels like we have a culture problem here, and when you have a culture problem, it's a top-down situation,” said Bumgarner.

The off-campus incident happened on October 22 after a team dinner in Double Oak. Part of it was recorded on video, which NBC 5 has chosen not to publish.

Parents say their underage son was stripped of his clothes by a group of teammates, called a racial slur, and shot at more than 45 times with a pellet gun, striking him eight times.

“Anybody that saw the video, that young man was tortured. He was stripped of his humanity,” said Bumgarner.

Lewisville ISD said its investigation found "a history of hazing incidents" amongst a group of players and that "appropriate disciplinary consequences were issued," though details of the punishment weren't given.

After our report, Bumgarner says he and three other elected officials requested more information from Superintendent Rapp.

“Dr. Rapp sent us all an email with their findings and their punishments that they doled out and quite frankly, I was not impressed,” said Bumgarner.

In a statement, Dr. Rapp said, "Federal privacy laws prevent us from discussing individual student discipline, but in general, consequences for hazing or bullying under the LISD Student Code of Conduct may include temporary expulsion from campus and ineligibility for semester events and ceremonies."

“Should criminal charges be filed, the district is required to implement additional disciplinary measures outlined in the LISD Student Code of Conduct and Texas Law,” wrote Dr. Rapp.

She added, "The well-being of the student who was harmed is a priority for our district.”

It’s a sentiment shared by Bumgarner.

“I hope he knows that he has the community behind him, that people see what has happened, that he is not a pariah or a stigma, that people are in his corner and we all back him,” said Bumgarner.

Double Oak police told NBC 5 earlier this week that the criminal investigation was ongoing, but did not respond to our request for comment Friday.

In Lewisville ISD’s investigation report, there is a list of corrective actions, which include ensuring team dinners occur on campus, moving forward with staff supervision.