NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — A former University of Oklahoma student is suing a fraternity, saying he was hazed and beaten by members at a 2015 initiation.
Texas resident Blake Novacek filed a lawsuit last week against the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, two fraternity members and others over an incident he alleges happened after pledges were called to the fraternity’s house in Norman on Oct. 11, 2015.
Novacek said he was hit in the abdomen with a baseball bat after failing to recite some pledge facts, causing him to hit his head and lose consciousness. The lawsuit alleges one member threatened to retaliate if Novacek didn’t “keep his mouth shut.”
The lawsuit alleges the fraternity’s pledge class president asked Novacek not to file a report of the incident. Novacek said he agreed, but that his car was vandalized the next day.
The two fraternity members named as defendants denied the allegations, saying the accusations were a surprise and that they planned to hire attorneys. The president of the Beta Theta Pi Corporation of Oklahoma said the lawsuit was “entirely without merit.”
The fraternity released a statement saying it became aware of the lawsuit on Monday.
“This is the first any of us have heard of any of the plaintiff’s alleged grievances, which supposedly arose two years ago,” the fraternity said.
University spokesman Rowdy Gilbert declined to comment on the lawsuit, saying it would be inappropriate do to so because the litigation was pending. But he said: “The university investigates every report of a violation of the Student Rights and Responsibilities Code.”
Novacek’s father is former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jay Novacek.