At least four Texas Rangers prospects could be facing charges in the Dominican Republic over an alleged hazing incident involving an underage teammate.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reported on Monday that a group of players are expected to be charged for allegedly holding down a teammate and masturbating him. The players who have been questioned include the younger brother of Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor, also named Rougned, and 19-year-old catching prospect Yohel Pozo. The players involved have been ordered to not leave the Dominican Republic.
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Video of the alleged assault, which took place toward the end of October, was captured and posted on Snapchat, according to sources. A 10-second clip of video, obtained by Yahoo Sports, shows the alleged victim in a Rangers shirt and Rangers shorts laying on a bed with his arms held behind his back and his legs pinned down. At least four men are seen in addition to the alleged victim, whose penis is exposed, grabbed and maneuvered underneath a hand towel. All of the men in the video, including the alleged victim, are seen laughing.
The alleged assault was one of a number of hazing incidents of Venezuelan and Colombian players, some of whom were younger than 18, according to sources. More tenured players shaved the head of at least one new player and forced at least one other to take his clothes off, and sources said police are investigating at least one more allegation of forced masturbation.
The Rangers reported the alleged incident immediately after a staff member informed the team of it, and the players were questioned by Dominican police on Nov. 9. The players have been placed on administrative leave by Major League Baseball, and the team issued the following statement to Yahoo Sports:
“The Texas Rangers became aware of an incident at our Academy in the Dominican Republic and we acted promptly to open an investigation. We have reported the incident and are cooperating fully with Major League Baseball and the authorities in the Dominican Republic. With this being an ongoing investigation, we will have no further comment at this time.”
