Emily: Very powerful commentary. I really applaud your urging of student-athletes themselves to take responsibility for the safety and well being of their teammates. Bravo.

Bravo to Mary Wilfert for bringing the Hazing Summit together.

My question is 'What is wrong with hazing?' Everyone gasps at the word, only because political correctness has gone so over-the-top in today's society that 'hazing' has gotten a bad connotation. Truth is that 99.9% of what administrators call 'hazing' is absolutely harmless, and in fact, probably serves to strengthen the bond amongst teammates. I know that my team has annual traditions that are likely considered hazing by some people, but just because an administrator places a taboo title on it, doesn't mean we are going to stop something that has been going on, literally, for four decades.

I'm not just saying this to ruffle some people's feathers. I want to hear legitimate reasons for why hazing is now a bad thing. Having said that, I DO NOT want to hear the one-in-a-million story about how someone was actually abused or physically hurt in some way. Those stories are just freak incidents. They should be dealt with appropriately on a local level, but they do not justify ruining the traditions of countless teams across the country. I also don't want to hear stories about how little Johnny had to do something that embarrassed him, and he got his feelings hurt. Kids are becoming too soft nowadays, so these 'embarrassments' will only build character. I, as a senior and captain of my team, am still having some of those moments, and I relish every single one of them.

Four words to live by:

Don't haze me, bro.

Many student athletes find hazing to be harmless, until it happens to them, so it's interesting to see the 80% v 12% stats mentioned in the article. Do many student athletes really feel they weren't hazed or do they just not want to admit they were?

There is a problem with hazing in college. After the death in Colorado there should be more authority against hazing. What happens when there is another death and then another death? When is it going to stop? Hazing is a form of initiation which can be abusive both emotionally and physically.

Once there was a death of a student, there should have been some type of stop to this. Hazing only makes the hazer feel good, not the hazee. The way to start is with the student athletes because the information states that almost 100% of student athletes participated in some kind of hazing. When will it stop?

If you'll read my original post (above), you're story falls in the 'one-in-a-million' category. That situation should be addressed by that particular university/community.

Consider the total number of college athletes in this country in a given year. Based on my observations as a current student-athlete, I believe that you can safely make the assumption that a large majority have participated in some form of "hazing" (i.e. hundreds of thousands). How often does someone actually get hurt or die from this? One every few years, AT MOST. Such a minute percentage.

There are more deaths among student-athletes with undetected heart problems that are manifested during rigorous activity than from hazing. Does that mean that we should completely eliminate all college sports? While we’re at it, there are more deaths per year in this country from people tipping over vending machines on themselves than from hazing. Why not try to ban vending machines nationwide?

The inherent problem is that a bunch of outsiders are the ones trying to 'fix' the hazing issue. The outsiders hear a report on the news about an athlete dying from a hazing incident, and they automatically think hazing is that extreme on every campus. Truth be told, nearly all hazing is nothing more than harmless team traditions that have been given a bad label. It doesn't make sense to destroy the decades-old traditions of teams and schools across the country just because one single team went overboard. It's like trying to shut down the entire beef industry because your local McDonalds undercooked your burger one time.

Team traditions serve as a rite of passage. It's a form of bonding that is necessary to build the tight-knit relationships that teammates must have in order to accomplish something special on the field/court/track/pool/etc. Anyone who has ever been on a collegiate team knows the kind of bond that teammates must have, and 'hazing' is simply a component of that. If you want to be a part of a loosely-organized campus group that doesn't accomplish anything significant, just to put it on your resume, join the chem club.

As for me, college athletics has given me memories that I wouldn't trade the world for, and friends that I will still be sharing those memories with 30 years from now. And yes, 'hazing' has been a part of it all, and I'm a stronger person because of it.

As a student-athlete who was never "hazed," I must say that I was still able to connect with my teammates and enjoy my college athletic experience. I have a hard time believing that hazing is a necessary rite of passage and the only way to form bonds with your teammates.

My involvement in competition was what made me a stronger person. The days of training side by side with my teammates is what brought us together and will provide us with fond memories years down the line.

Sure, people die from undetected heart problems during athletic activity, but to compare that with hazing deaths is truly unreasonable. There is a certain amount of risk involved in everyday life and accidents happen, but hazing is definitely preventable. If one student dies as the result of hazing, that is one too many.

I wish that the same educational resources that I received were available to all student-athletes. Then my original post would be taken to heart. As a leader on campus and as a student-athlete, I have an ongoing hope that we can find other ways to bond and create memories. I realize that by posting on a blog I won't be able to stop hazing, but my hope is that people would think twice before they do something that could scar their teammates both emotionally and physically.

It's funny, I always hear that fraternities don't haze (some do, some don't), but I never hear the NCAA reach out to every one of it's members about hazing, unlike national fraternity organizations.