Rumor and innuendo about the Ursuline High School football team’s summer trek through the South have been swirling for the better part of three months.

Now, after the filing of a federal civil-rights lawsuit against the school, officials, coaches and some players, we know why.

A former Ursuline family — represented by the Chandra Law Firm LLC of Cleveland — alleges hazing and physical and sexual assault of a player by other players during a nine-day trip through Florida, Tennessee and Alabama in June.

The lawsuit names as defendants the school, Principal Michael Sammartino, Assistant Principal Margaret Damore, football coach Dan Reardon, assistant coaches Tim McGlynn and Christian Syrianoudis and 11 Ursuline football players and their parents.

The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, which oversees the high school, also is named in the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division.

A news release from the Chandra Law Firm states:

” … According to the court filing, multiple criminal acts occurred, including hazing, physical and sexual abuse, kidnapping, and the production and dissemination of child pornography. The lawsuit alleges that coaches Reardon, McGlynn, and Syrianoudis were aware of the misconduct before, during, and after the trip — but failed to take appropriate action to address it.”

The details are so disturbing, we can’t even detail them here.

Ursuline officials and the Diocese have had little to say about the incident both before and since the lawsuit was filed.

On Wednesday, the diocese provided a statement that read:

“We’ve just received the complaint today. We’re reviewing it with our own legal counsel. We have no further comment at this time.”

On Wednesday, another statement was released:

“The Diocese of Youngstown is aware of news reports regarding a lawsuit filed by one of our former Ursuline High School families. While detailed responses will only be made through the court process, the Diocese and Ursuline High School conducted a timely investigation, cooperated with the appropriate authorities, and took immediate actions to protect Ursuline High School students. No further statements will be made regarding this matter. Bishop Bonnar prays for peace and healing for all those involved.”

The lawsuit alleges that no investigation took place after the player’s mother brought the allegations to the attention of Sammartino and Damore. It also alleges that McGlynn was indifferent when the boy’s mother first reported the allegations to him on June 16.

According to Chandra, ” … McGlynn allegedly expressed no surprise or sympathy. Instead, he reportedly downplayed the incident, saying, “It’s just boys being boys.”

The accounts of the nine-day trip don’t seem that way to us. The allegations are disgusting and disturbing and it doesn’t appear that — aside from the lawsuit — there were any disciplinary actions taken against the players involved nor the coaches. In fact, the lawsuit alleges that one of the accused players and his friends made “an apparent attempt to intimidate her from supporting her brother or speaking about the incident.”

The lawsuit also alleges that “Ursuline and its administration tried unsuccessfully to cover up the illegal activity.”

If that’s true, and it can be shown that the coaches on that trip knew about what was alleged to have happened during those nine days, a major housecleaning is in order for the school and football program.

If winning football games is more important than preparing teenage boys for success in life as men, something is rotten at Ursuline and there is no choice but to remove it, along with all involved in allowing it to fester. If criminal conduct can be proven, the courts should get involved.

The first thing you see in Google when you search for the Diocese is the title of its website: “The Catholic Diocese of Youngstown: For God’s Glory.”

Do the sordid details of these allegations call to mind God’s Glory?