Ooltewah High School basketball player undergoes surgery after being allegedly hazed by three teammates in Gatlinburg cabin

An incident involving three Ooltewah High School basketball players who reportedly hazed a younger teammate is being investigated by the Gatlinburg Police Department.

According to Ooltewah High athletic director Jesse Nayadley, sometime during the Smoky Mountain Classic basketball tournament, which was held Dec. 21-23 at Gatlinburg-Pittman High, three players reportedly began hazing a freshman player. The younger player wound up having to be admitted to the hospital and the three older players have been dismissed from the basketball team.

"It's still an ongoing investigation, but I can confirm that there was an incident involving three of our boys' basketball players apparently hazing another teammate," Nayadley said. "The younger player was injured and he was hospitalized. We have informed the three who were responsible that they are no longer on the team.

"We can't give names because they're under 18 years of age, and since we're out of school for the holidays we haven't met yet to determine how they will be punished at school. But as far as athletically, those three young men are no longer a part of the Ooltewah basketball team."

Gatlinburg Police received a call from LeConte Medical Center in reference to an assault that took place at a rental cabin. The victim was later transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center where he underwent surgery because of the extent of his injuries.

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