Waterboarding, forced eating, physical punishment: Lawsuit alleges abuse faced by injured pledge at UH’s Pi Kappa Phi fraternity

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A pledge is suing the University of Houston and the collegiate chapter of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, claiming he was hospitalized because of physical abuse during hazing rituals.

The lawsuit follows Pi Kappa Phi’s national headquarters suspending the UH chapter on Nov. 6, leading to its dissolution.

RELATED: Pi Kappa Phi closes University of Houston chapter after hazing allegations send person to hospital

The transfer student said he is seeking compensation for injuries and damages from extreme hazing and abusive pledge activities during Fall 2025.

The lawsuit names several people, including the fraternity’s president, pledgemaster, other leaders, and both current and former members.

In the lawsuit, the hazing reportedly began after the unnamed pledge accepted a bid on Sept. 16, during which he was subjected to several tasks, including an enforced dress code, completing several hours of study, and conducting an interview with members and other pledges every week.

In addition, he was forced to carry a fanny pack that held objects of a sexual nature at all times. The suit says that if the tasks were not completed, he was threatened with physical punishment and/or expulsion from the fraternity.

Records say that he was also forced to drive members during the early morning hours, which led to exhaustion.

The lawsuit lists several places where the abuse happened, including the Phi Kappa Phi house. It claims that on Oct. 13, during one hazing incident, another pledge was hog-tied face-down on a table with an object in his mouth for over an hour while fraternity members prepared for a meeting.

A former member and his spouse are also named in the lawsuit because some major hazing sessions allegedly took place at their off-campus house. It is alleged that pledges were made to strip to their underwear in cold weather, lie in vomit-soaked grass, do calisthenics while being sprayed in the face with a hose in a way similar to waterboarding, and run repeatedly under threat of being waterboarded.

The lawsuit also names Yellowstone Park as a third location where pledges were made to do extreme early-morning and late-night workouts. On Oct. 15, during one of these workouts, a pledge lost consciousness and collapsed, and other pledges had to elevate his legs until he recovered.

The lawsuit says that during some workouts, pledges had to consume large amounts of milk, hot dogs, and peppercorns until they vomited, and then continue running sprints even while clearly in physical distress.

The incident that led to the pledge’s hospitalization happened on Nov. 3, when he was allegedly forced to do over 100 pushups, 500 squats, and other exercises while reciting the fraternity creed under threat of immediate expulsion. He says he became so exhausted he could not stand without help.

Three days later, the pledge still could not stand and was passing brown urine, a sign of muscle breakdown. His mother took him to the hospital, where he stayed for four days. The lawsuit says tests showed very high creatine kinase levels, which are consistent with rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney failure.

The lawsuit also names the University of Houston, arguing the university should be held responsible because it owned and directly controlled the Pi Kappa Phi house where hazing happened. The document says the university failed to act even though it had the power to regulate, suspend, or remove organizations that endangered student safety.

The University of Houston and Pi Kappa Phi’s national headquarters declined to comment on the lawsuit.

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