As college baseball season gears for World Series play, one of its storied programs has taken center stage for a hazing scandal that doesn’t reflect well on the Catholic University or the current state of its baseball program.
A former highly-touted pitcher has filed a shocking new federal lawsuit against the University that names Seton Hall head coach Rob Sheppard. According to reports, after getting pummeled in a wrestling match with an older member of the baseball team, the teen was subjected to a twisted team masturbation ritual and other humiliating hazing practices while head Sheppard allegedly ignored everything, according to a shocking new federal lawsuit.
Former Seton Hall Pitcher Filed Lawsuit Against University and Head Coach Rob Sheppard
“I was spitting blood everywhere,” said the star pitcher, who had several Division I offers before settling in on Seton Hall. “It was a feeling that I’m really never gonna forget.”
The suit further alleges the program has been infested by a “hotbed of sicko sex hazing” featuring nude wrestling with extreme violent intent in a makeshift wrestling ring, according to a lawsuit, filed in Long Island federal court on Wednesday.
The coach and the school “failed to investigate or discipline the perpetrators, allowing the toxic culture to persist,” claims the lawsuit.
Rob Sheppard was named the head coach of the Seton Hall baseball program on June 30, 2004, becoming the 17th head coach in the history of the baseball program, and just the third since 1948. He has amassed over 500 wins after inheriting a winning legacy left by his father, Mike Sheppard, Sr., who won 998 games in 31 years as coach from 1973-2003, while also producing Major League All-Stars like the Mets’ Mo Vaughn and Hall of Famer Astros’ player Craig Biggio.
The player’s attorney, Mark Shirian, said the school’s failure to stop the hazing and abuse “shattered lives.”
“Seton Hall University’s baseball program turned a blind eye to a culture of vicious hazing, betraying the trust of young athletes and perpetuating a cycle of abuse under the guise of tradition,” he said.
“This deliberate indifference not only shattered lives but exposed a shameful failure to protect those they promised to uplift.”
Who Is Seton Hall Head Coach Rob Sheppard Named In Bombshell Lawsuit?
Prior to being elevated to head coach, Sheppard served as an assistant coach for seven seasons under his father, and associate head coach for two seasons.
Since taking over, Sheppard has’t achieved his father’s success, but continued the blend of hard work in the classroom and on the field fostered by his father. During his 20 years at the helm, he has produced six All-Americans and 71 Pirates that have earned All-BIG EAST honors. In addition, 40 of his players have gone on to sign professional baseball contracts with Major League Baseball affiliated franchises, including a program-record seven in 2018.
Sheppard’s 21 years as skipper ranks him third all-time at Seton Hall behind only Hall of Famers Mike Sheppard, Sr. and Owen T. Carroll.
The pitcher, now 18, left Seton Hall after just two months on campus and because of transfer portal rules had to enter a Division III school, try to put the trauma behind him and start again.
“To spend my whole life trying to get to that point, and I finally got there, and then had this all happen, and it’s just derailed my whole career,” the player said.
“There’s gotta be some accountability taken by the coach,” the player said. “He’s gotta lay his foot down and take control of that whole situation and try to make things a lot better.”
Social Media Reacts To Seton Hall Hazing Bombshell Lawsuit
“The Seton Hall baseball hazing allegations are deeply disturbing. Rob Shepard, Ryan Ramiz, Giuseppe Papaccio, Jimmy Moran, Vince Esposito and Michael Casaleggio need to take accountability. If they knew ANY of this was happening in their locker room, then they need to be fired. Too many coaches turn a blind eye to these disgusting traditions. There is no excuse,” said one college baseball fan on X.
“If what is being said about the Seton Hall baseball program is true, the coach should be fired and the program put on probation. Apparently, a freshman pitcher was brutally hazed, beaten and forced into sex acts. Disgusting and no room for this. I hope Seton Hall investigates,” said another netizen on X as news of the lawsuit broke.
Seton Hall Baseball Culture Alleged To Be Rife With Humiliating Sex Hazing Rituals
That level of legacy and tradition doesn’t seem to fit the harrowing accounts of a 17-year-old pitcher, who says he suffered neck pain and other injuries after he was forced to wrestle a teammate in a brutal hazing ritual.
“What’s going on in the locker room is some sick, sick stuff,” one student told The Post under anonymity.
The star pitcher grew up on Long Island and by the time he was in high school he was throwing a 91-MPH fastball. He reportedly had 10 Division 1 offers across the country and says Seton Hall gave him the best scholarship package.
“That’s every kid’s dream,” he said of playing in the big leagues. “We thought it was going to be a good fit, but obviously didn’t end up that way.”
17-Year-Old Pitcher Targeted By Seton Hall Baseball Team’s Wicked Hazing Rituals
Within days of arriving on the New Jersey campus in August of 2024, the 17-year-old pitcher says he was forced to show everyone his genitals in the locker room. Players then made lewd comments towards him that, according to the lawsuit, created “a sense of intimidation.”
According to the suit these are some of the comments directed towards the player by his older teammates:
“We’ve got to see what you’ve got down there.”
“The locker room erupted in laughter,” the suit says,
“Whoa… you’ve got some balls down there!” said one of the players, according to the suit, leaving him feeling “humiliated and distressed.”
Kangs: Brutal Fights
The hazing crossed another line when he was forced to wrestle a much older player shortly after Labor Day weekend in 2024, according to the lawsuit, in a ritual called “Kangs.”
“I basically got beat up,” the pitcher recalls. “I got body slammed, put in a chokehold.”
According to the lawsuit, the beating was so severe that it left the young pitcher spitting blood all over the sidewalk. He told The Post that he suffered visible scarring to his knees from the attack.
Sheppard probably could have put an end to the nonsense before it got to this level. The pitcher’s father reportedly called Sheppard about the incident “and basically told me that none of this goes on here, that he would take care of this and that none of this ever happens at Seton Hall and it’s not tolerated,” he said.
The lawsuit claims that instead of addressing it, Sheppard and school “failed to investigate the complaint, discipline perpetrators, or implement corrective measures,” the lawsuit claims, “allowing the hazing to continue unabated.”
It got to a point that has brought us here. On particular incident has rocked the reputation of the entire program
The Final Straw: Masturbation Hazing
According to the lawsuit players on the Seton Hall baseball team were involved in a masturbation exhibition called “Lotus,” where a player has to lie on the locker room floor and “manipulate his genitals” while other players gawked at him and cheered.
“One day in the locker room, I came in and they got everyone ready to do this ‘Lotus’ to this kid and they had him lay down butt naked in the middle of the locker room and touch himself,” the traumatized pitcher said.
Did Seton Hall Baseball Head Coch Rob Sheppard Ignore Deteriorating Locker Room Culture?
Shortly after that, according to reports, the pitcher went to Sheppard’s office to “tell him I was done,” he said.
“Sheppard expressed disappointment,” according to his suit, “but took no meaningful action to address the issues.”
In fact, it seems that Sheppard violated the trust of the victimized player by divulging the contents of their meeting, after ensuring the player that the meeting was private. The player says he was called a “rat” and became the target of “nasty” things being said about him in the groupchat, he said.
“This disparate treatment is based on outdated gender stereotypes that dismiss male hazing as ‘boys being boys’ or acceptable masculine rites of passage,” the suit states.