Teton High principals pen letter after hazing incident cancels varsity football game

DRIGGS — Parents of students who attend Teton High School in Driggs received a letter from the principals on Thursday to clear up confusion after a football game was canceled due to hazing allegations from the team.

On Wednesday, Teton High forfeited Friday’s football game against Sugar-Salem High School due to a hazing incident involving players last week. The forfeit only applied to the varsity game. The junior varsity will play on Friday.

Teton principal Kristin Weston told EastIdahoSports.com that the hazing incident occurred Oct. 1 and was reported to school administrators this week.

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“Although no injuries were reported, the conduct was serious enough that some players intervened to put an end to it. As a school, we take this report with the utmost seriousness,” Weston wrote in a note addressed to the Teton County community.

It is not clear if the incident included criminal conduct.

Teton School District 401 Superintendent Brian Ashton provided more information on how the decision to cancel the game was made.

According to Ashton, the varsity players decided together that “accountability was needed.”

“The coaches and admin stepped out of the room, the team captains stepped up, and the team discussed the consequences that would be appropriate,” says Ashton in an email to EastIdahoNews.com. “They wrote a letter of apology, they signed it, and invited the coaches and admin back in. The captains then shared the consequence they felt as a team was appropriate and the coaches and admin agreed.”

Ashton says the victims of the hazing were spoken to privately by the administration.

“The admin also discussed this privately with the students who had experienced the hazing, and they felt that the consequence was fitting,” says Ashton. “That is an important lesson. I genuinely believe that the only way we will overcome the cultural toxicity being levied against our young people, and thereby open up systems of silence and shame that foster this type of hazing, is to encourage responsibility, openness and accountability.”

In the letter to parents sent to EastIdahoNews.com, Principal Weston, Assistant Principal Marshal Givens, and Assistant Principal Patrick Hogan say they are “not looking away” from the hazing incident.

Read the full letter here.

“Our coaches have talked. Our administration has talked. Our district has talked. Student discipline is being handled through our established policies, and while privacy laws limit what I can share, I can tell you that we are not looking away from this,” says the letter. “There are rumors and speculations, and what people see from the outside isn’t always reflective of the full picture or the internal and ongoing actions being taken.”

The principals say they chose to discuss the situation openly rather than handle it privately, to increase transparency.

“Problems like hazing survive in silence, and too often the culture among our students has been to keep quiet and not report what they see. That has to change,” says the letter. “If you see or hear something, say something, and that goes for students, parents, and staff alike.”

The letter says the administration hopes that through sharing the consequences of the incident, the students can learn the dangers of hazing.

“We are working with coaches, team captains, and student leaders so that speaking up becomes normal and expected. Being open about this should not create alarm,” says the letter. “Transparency is how we hold ourselves accountable. We have work to do, lessons to learn, harm to repair, and relationships to restore, and our kids can do it.”

According to administrators, parents can help by asking their students specific questions about their days at school.

“You might ask: What happens at school that you think adults should know about but probably don’t? What’s the vibe in places adults aren’t always around, like the locker room, the stands, the bus, or group chats?” says the letter. “If your student shares something that concerns you, please let us know so we can follow up.”

The principals then encourage parents and students to attend the junior varsity game in Sugar City this Friday at 5 p.m. to support the school and community.

“A final reminder that while we deal with challenges on a daily basis, some more significant than others, there are great things happening at Teton High School,” says the letter. “If you have questions or concerns, please reach out to me directly. Our doors are always open to a concerned student or parent. We’re steady, we’re working on it, and we’re grateful to be doing this work alongside you.”