Jon Hamm is known for being a generally cool guy. I adore him, frankly, so this news rather disturbed me. Apparently, in 1990, while at the University of Texas, Hamm took part in a crazy violent hazing ritual. The reports are kind of shocking, and they don’t sound like something he would do. But then again, how much do we really know about Jon Hamm? His rehab visit sure surprised the f*ck out of me. So who knows?
Here’s what the victim is alleging, via Huffington Post:
The Emmy-nominated actor had not previously been publicly linked to a lawsuit filed by a Sigma Nu pledge who said he was severely beaten, dragged by a hammer and had his pants lit on fire. In the 1991 lawsuit, the pledge said Hamm participated “till the very end.”
Criminal records show Hamm, now 44, was charged with hazing and received deferred adjudication, which under Texas law means he had to successfully complete probation but was never convicted. A separate charge of assault was dismissed.
[..] According to the lawsuit, Hamm became “mad, I mean really mad” after the 20-year-old Sigma Nu pledge failed to recite things he was supposed to memorize about Hamm and other fraternity members. For Hamm, his list included “Young Bobby,” ”MC Hammer” and “UT Football Punching Bag.”
The pledge, Mark Allen Sanders, said Hamm went on to set his jeans on fire, shove his face in dirt and strike him with a paddle.
“He rears back and hits me left-handed, and he hit me right over my right kidney, I mean square over it,” Sanders said in the lawsuit. “Good solid hit and that, that stood me right up.”
Jesus, that does not sound good. Look, as a Hamm fan, I’m obviously hoping this isn’t true, but it seems a little too detailed to be made up out of thin air. And can I just take this moment to ask, why are fraternities (and sororities) still a thing? It seems like all the news that comes out of them is negative as all hell.
Interested to see how this turns out…