Nashville, Tennessee: Attorney Phillip S. Georges of The Wolf Pack® in Nashville, TN, is representing a former Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) student in a racial discrimination case. The case involves racist hazing practices carried out against the black plaintiff and another black student as they attempted to become members of a campus fraternity.
A History of Hazing
We have all heard the horror stories of hazing taking place in college fraternities. As pledges, or individuals who wanted to join a fraternity, completed their rush weeks to determine whether they were a good fit, it used to be quite common for them to be violated or injured, even killed by hazing practices.
Today, most universities as well as most fraternities’ codes of conduct have no-tolerance rules against hazing, so it is rare to hear about such cases anymore. However, a former MTSU student, backed by Attorney Phil Georges, has filed a lawsuit against the fraternity for which he was a former pledge, alleging racially discriminatory hazing against himself and another black pledge.
Black Pledges Experience Violent Threats and Emotional Abuse
According to the lawsuit, ten white members of the Kappa Iota chapter of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at MTSU were responsible for carrying out racially insensitive and threatening actions against two black students during their rush period.
Among the allegations of abuse were threats of kidnapping and hanging, use of racial slurs by the white students, playing of “slave music”, and discussing the KKK. There were also examples of hazing that were not directly associated with race, such as alcohol abuse. All of this was directed toward the black plaintiff and another black student, the only two black individuals trying to become fraternity members.
A New Future Ahead
Since the events of the lawsuit took place in October of 2021, the local fraternity chapter involved was punished by the national organization and seven months ago, was completely expelled from the MTSU campus.
The plaintiff’s life also changed drastically since he experienced the hateful events of last year. In the process of working through the serious emotional damage and humiliation that he was left with after the incident, he was forced to leave both the university and the state of Tennessee. He is seeking $15,000,000 in damages for these experiences.
No individual should have to suffer such indignity to gain entry to a campus group. One hopes that having the fierce legal representation of The Wolf Pack® behind him will allow the plaintiff to receive justice and empower others to report abuse.
About The Wolf Pack® at Phillip S. Georges, PLLC
The Wolf Pack®, owned by Attorney Phillip S. Georges, is a personal injury law firm in Nashville, TN, helping individuals both locally and across the country who have been wrongfully injured and are seeking justice.
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