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Suffolk family claims son was choked, stomped on by fellow lacrosse players during alleged hazing incident

The family says they are preparing to file a lawsuit against the district for a failure to investigate the incident.

Jon Dowding

May 9, 2025, 9:07 PM

Updated 5 hr ago

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A Melville family claims their 14-year-old son was choked and stomped on by fellow lacrosse players during a hazing incident.
The family says it involved four junior varsity and varsity lacrosse players Half Hollow Hills Central School District.
The Mihos family says their son, who News 12 will not be identifying, told them about the injuries after they picked him up from practice.
The student told News 12 the about what he experienced while he says his coaches were nowhere in sight.
"I threw a bad pass, and one of the kids pinned me against the wall,” he said.
He says another student hurled lacrosse balls at him while he wasn’t wearing any protective equipment.
This knocked the wind out of him.
"I still had the wind knocked out of me and one of the kids put me in a choke hold and slammed me onto the ground. And the other one started stomping on me,” he said. "I was trying to scream, like, 'Someone help me,' but I still had the wind knocked out of me."
The family filed a police report and brought him to a hospital.
While had no broken bones, he suffered deep bruising and a broken spirit.
"I don't really want to play anymore,” he said. “I'm scared of playing now cause I don't want this to happen again to me or anyone else."
The student’s father, Evan Mihos, says no one from the school contacted them about what happened, but says a teammate reached out to their daughter asking about it.
"And he says, 'Hey, was your brother hazed today at practice,” he said.
Michael Janus is representing the family and says they already sent out a Notice of Claim to the district detailing their intent to file a lawsuit.
"This appears that there has been no actions or consequences taken because everyone seems to be playing, no suspensions, no one has reached out to the parents prior to my Notice of Claim,” he said.
The student’s mother, Fay Mihos, says the family decided to speak out to prevent this from happening to someone else’s child.
"They broke my son," she said. "It's David versus Goliath and David needs to stand up. Enough is enough. Do something, say something."
The Half Hollow Hills Central School District tells News 12 it cannot comment on pending litigation.
Janus says they have a hearing in June and that the family is looking to transfer the student to a private school.


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