Coaches Responsibility and Athletes' Perceptions:

     I think it is safe to say that there are hazing incidents that have happened where it is known that the coach turned their head or looked the other way.  Sometimes, there can be serious consequences for those actions. I have been reviewing various articles on hazing and I remember reading in one where the coach was criminally charged for a hazing accident that another athlete committed because of the choice they made to "turn their head."
     I found a great article through the CWU Library titled, "Looking the Other Way: Athletes' Perceptions of Coaches' Responses to Hazing."  The article discusses many points of emphasis when it comes to hazing. They used the interviews to gather their information. Twenty-one athletes volunteered to partake in the research.  Some points that were discussed in this article were not only about when coaches look the other way, but also the importance a coach can have about being proactive about hazing.  They mostly used open ended questions during their interviews.  The article states, "Coaches agreed that most athletes participated in hazing to gain acceptance from their teammates. When confronted with hazing, coaches believed athletes should question or challenge hazing practices" (Kowalski, C., Waldron, J., 2010 p.89).  There was a mix in response on when hazing should be reported. The research found that some coaches believed that hazing should only be reported if there was discomfort or injury.  The article also discussed the thought that athletes should try to stand up for themselves when put in a hazing situation. However, there have been studies completed where athletes stated that there were harsher consequences if they tried to stay out of the the hazing activities. 
     One topic that really made me think was the coaches perception on if hazing was occurring or not. I wonder how many coaches feel hazing is not happening and thus do not see a problem. I can honestly say in all the sports I played I was involved in a hazing incident as an the one hazing or the one being hazed.  Some coaches felt there was no need to be proactive due to the fact that there were no problems with hazing in their program.  I see why they may say this but I can also see the importance of being practice rather than waiting for an incident to occur and then being reactive. 
     Like I said before, there were 21 participants in the survey, eleven male and ten female who were current or former high school and collegiate athletes. The study found, "All participants indicated experiencing hazing behaviors during their interview revealing they met the selection criterion of being a hazer or haze" (Kowalski, C., Waldron, J., 2010 p.90).
    There was a data analysis completed on the survey.  An inductive analysis was used through sorting, connecting, and coding date that was received through the interviews.  They also used axial coding to help in their data analysis.  Two researchers worked together and had to reach a consensus on themes. They created two charts where they compared higher order themes, lower ordered themes, and categories. I found this article to be very interesting and I suggest you to review it to learn more about the impact a coach can have on hazing. 

Reference:
Kowalski, C., & Waldron, J. (2010). Looking the Other Way:  Athletes' Perceptions of Coaches' Responses to Hazing. International Journal Of Sports Science & Coaching, 5(1), 87-100.