Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. is in hot water, again, after an ex-pledge has come forward with disturbing accusations after an alleged “Hell Night” hazing. Now, he’s suing the fraternity, the University of Southern Mississippi and multiple other people and organizations.
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According to a federal lawsuit, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity’s Nu Eta chapter allegedly began hazing Rafeal Joseph in December 2022. Fast forward to April 16, 2023, when a “Hell Night” ritual allegedly turned violent when he claimed he was struck repeatedly with a wooden paddle made from a two-by-four plank.
ABC News reported that Joseph suffered bruised ribs, a hematoma (localized bleeding outside of blood vessels due to trauma), posterior compartment syndrome (a painful buildup of pressure around your muscles) and rhabdomyolysis (a life-threatening rare muscle injury where muscles break down). The outlet reported he even had to undergo a blood transfusion, emergency surgery, and had to learn how to walk all over again. He had to spend 11 days in the hospital, local news station WAPT 16 reported.
Joseph says his injuries were so severe and the emotional stress too dire, he had to drop out of college. But that’s not all.
The lawsuit also accused fraternity members of preventing him from sleeping, threatening him, and stealing his food and money. A second case of alleged abuse was also named from the fall of 2022, claiming the same fraternity chapter left another student with a torn ACL.
Omega Psi Phi Fraternity did not comment on the new lawsuit, but they did make a comment earlier this year after Southern University student Caleb Wilson died after an alleged hazing while pledging Beta Sigma chapter.
In a statement, they called Caleb “a beloved son,” and “a scholar [and] an exceptional member of the Southern University Marching Band.” We previously reported that the 20-year-old died after an alleged off-campus hazing ritual in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in late February.
His death, per CBS News, was “the direct result of a hazing incident where he was punched in the chest multiple times while pledging.”
Since then, three Que members has been charged for his death. Caleb McCray, 23, was charged with criminal hazing and manslaughter and has been released on bond after turning himself in. Kyle Thurman, 25, was arrested, and Isaiah Smith, 28, turned himself in after being charged with criminal hazing. South University’s Beta Sigma chapter has also been expelled.
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