Head football coach David Proffitt of Lake Zurich (Ill.) High School added his letter of resignation to those of athletic director Rolando Vazquez and assistant coach Chad Beaver shortly after the first two resignations were accepted by district board members at a meeting on Thursday.
All three staff members have been on paid leave since the report of an alleged hazing incident occurring in the men’s locker rooms on Oct. 27.
Police reported that a district employee, who wished to remain anonymous, heard a commotion in the locker rooms around 7 pm following a weekly team dinner held at Lake Zurich High. He stuck his head in to determine the cause, and what he saw prompted an investigation into an incident of possible sexual abuse, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Though both law enforcement and school district employees have refused to detail what transpired, police documents show that assistant coach Beaver reported to police on Oct. 31 that he had been informed of an incident stemming from a weekly team bonding exercise in which the players voted on one member to be dressed in a costume and “teased.”
A criminal sexual abuse investigation was launched on Nov. 8 after a letter was sent home to players and their guardians requiring players to sign a student behavior agreement or forfeit their playing privileges for the rest of the 2016 season.
In a police interview on Nov. 29, head coach Proffitt denied any participation or foreknowledge of the activities. “If I had known what was going on, I would have blown that thing up quicker than you can blink,” Proffitt told the Daily Herald.
Although Proffitt denies any wrongdoing and states he has only submitted his resignation with regards to the best interest of the school and the community, legal representation for the student-athlete allegedly victimized by other members of the football team isn’t ready to release any of the staff members from responsibility.
Lawyer Antonio Romanucci told reporters that the successive resignations “have only heightened our concern as to what exactly has been taking place in the Lake Zurich High School football team's locker room."
