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7 students face hearings in Merchant Marine Academy probe

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (AP) Seven suspended men’s soccer players at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy will face campus disciplinary hearings over allegations of sexual misconduct, coercion and hazing, according to a federal lawyer.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James H. Knapp said the students were sexually abusive toward a freshman player on the team bus last September, and they squirted water or urine and covered several people with food, Newsday reported (http://nwsdy.li/2tplg5Y ) Saturday.

The students’ lawyers deny all the allegations. The students sued after being barred from graduating amid a probe by the U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general’s office.