Former Danvers Hockey Coach Being Reassigned From High School Position After Hazing Scandal

DANVERS (CBS) -- Former Danvers High School hockey coach Sergeant Steve Baldassare has stepped down from his position as a community liaison overseeing the school's resource officers after a hazing scandal involving the team.

Danvers Police Chief James Lovell told WBZ-TV Friday that Baldassare asked to be reassigned from his role as Commander of the Community Services Division, and that his request was accepted.

Several years ago, a boy on the Danvers High hockey team told authorities about racial, homophobic, and anti-Semitic hazing rituals in the team locker room at their home rink. The boy said he was whacked in the face with a sex toy and inappropriately touched while forced to stand naked.

An independent investigator's report, which was heavily redacted, was made public in November last year and it concluded that there wasn't enough evidence to bring any criminal charges.

Baldassare told investigators that he knew nothing of the rituals and resigned his coaching position last summer.

"We will begin the process to select and train [Baldassare's] replacement in anticipation of the 2022-2023 school year," said Lovell. "Sergeant Steve Baldassare is a valued member of the Danvers Police Department's Command Staff, a respected supervisor, police officer and investigator. At this time Sergeant Baldassare's new role has not been decided, but based on his knowledge, skills, and abilities, I am confident he will be successful in any role he is assigned to and will continue to proudly serve the residents of Danvers."

As recently as late March, members of the North Shore branch of the NAACP and New England Anti-Defamation League demanded changes in the Danvers Police Department because of the scandal.

They called for the town to remove Baldassare from his position as a community liaison.