Video shows three shirtless young men standing at the edge of a small pool during what's described as a University of Miami fraternity gathering, moments before one of them appears to be set on fire. In the footage, a man with a red cloth wrapped around his head allegedly ignites another man's jeans, and as the flames spread, three men tackle the group into the water while the man is still engulfed. The university's Phi Delta Theta chapter, known as Florida Delta, is now under investigation for alleged hazing tied to the incident.
According to Miami New Times, a concerned student handed over the footage, telling the outlet the alleged hazing goes far beyond what the video shows. The outlet notes it's the second time in less than a month that a University of Miami fraternity has faced hazing allegations, following Hoodline's coverage of a Secret Service agent's hazing probe involving a hospitalized Kappa Alpha Psi pledge.
University And National Fraternity Both Respond
The alleged incident took place during the spring semester, per the same report. In a statement last week, the University of Miami said it had never seen the video and was unaware of the incident or any related allegations. The university defines hazing as any intentional, knowing, or reckless act committed on or off campus against another person, regardless of that person's willingness to participate, and it maintains what it calls an absolute prohibition on the practice.
Phi Delta Theta's national office, according to the same account, is reviewing alleged policy violations at the Florida Delta chapter and says it is working with the university, the chapter, and alumni to look into the matter. The organization says it does not tolerate actions that contradict its values and policies, that it will hold accountable anyone found responsible for violating them, and that it prioritizes the safety of its members and the broader campus community.
Florida's Hazing Statutes Carry Felony Penalties
Florida law leaves little room for a defense in hazing cases. Under the Chad Meredith Act, codified at Florida Statutes § 1006.63, a hazing act that creates a substantial risk of injury or death is a first-degree misdemeanor, while hazing resulting in serious bodily injury or death becomes a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, according to the Florida Department of Education. Consent from the victim cannot be used as a legal defense. The law is named for Chad Meredith, an 18-year-old University of Miami student who drowned in Lake Osceola in 2001 while drinking with Kappa Sigma fraternity officers during an unofficial initiation, a death that led to a $12.6 million civil verdict before prompting the statewide reform.
Florida toughened its hazing laws further in 2019 with Andrew's Law, which holds fraternity officers and organizational leaders criminally liable if severe hazing occurs under their watch — even if they weren't present — while granting immunity to the first person who calls 911 or renders aid, according to the Law Firm of Scott T. Moorey. That law is named for Andrew Coffey, a Florida State University pledge who died in 2017. The same source cites national research from the anti-hazing group StopHazing finding that 55% of college students in clubs, athletic teams, and Greek organizations report experiencing hazing, with more than 40% saying they experienced it before ever reaching college.
Miami's Greek Life Faces Wider Scrutiny
The Phi Delta Theta case comes just weeks after Miami-Dade prosecutors arrested U.S. Secret Service agent Marquez Christopher Pinder and two co-defendants on felony charges, including hazing with a deadly weapon and attempted manslaughter, according to The Guardian. Prosecutors allege the beatings, tied to Kappa Alpha Psi, left a University of Miami graduate student hospitalized with kidney damage and requiring skin grafts. Pinder had served as "dean of pledges" for the local chapter before his arrest.
It's part of a broader pattern at the University of Miami. In 2024, the school opened a hazing investigation into its Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter after a viral video showed pledges crouching inside a backyard trash can while members chugged milk and spat or vomited on them in broad daylight, according to CBS News Miami. In October 2025, the university placed its Sigma Chi chapter on interim suspension pending a misconduct investigation, freezing all chapter operations, per the Miami Hurricane.
Phi Delta Theta's Deadly National Track Record
Phi Delta Theta's national organization has faced this kind of scrutiny before. Maxwell Gruver, an 18-year-old LSU freshman, died in 2017 from alcohol poisoning and aspiration after a hazing ritual at his fraternity house, according to NBC News. Miami New Times notes that a jury later awarded Gruver's family $6.1 million, that LSU's Phi Delta Theta chapter was permanently closed, and that Greek life across the LSU campus was briefly shut down entirely following his death.
That death also prompted Louisiana lawmakers to pass the Max Gruver Act in 2018, making hazing a felony and mandating anti-hazing education programs at universities, according to LSU Police. Phi Delta Theta's national office has required alcohol-free housing across all of its chapters since July 2000, becoming the largest national fraternity to ban alcohol inside chapter houses, per Phi Delta Theta itself. The University of Miami's Florida Delta chapter, chartered in December 1954, has been shut down twice before, losing its charter in 1972 and 1982 before re-establishing itself in 1999, according to Wikipedia.
Other Chapters Have Faced Similar Fallout
Phi Delta Theta chapters elsewhere have drawn similar consequences. Emory University banned the fraternity for four years starting in 2013, after an investigation revealed a basement fight club that used pledges as drunken, forced combatants. The University of Mississippi placed its own Phi Delta Theta chapter on interim suspension in September 2024 after videos showed pledges lying prone while members poured large amounts of liquid into their mouths.
At the University of Oklahoma, the national organization found its chapter responsible for code of conduct violations after a new member suffered alcohol poisoning in 2025; OU Daily reported that hazing incidents that fall semester included verbal degradation, physical overexertion, task assignments, and illegal alcohol consumption. The pattern extends well beyond Miami's Phi Delta Theta chapter — Hoodline recently detailed a FAU Delta Tau Delta lawsuit stemming from a separate Boca Raton hazing case. No charges have been filed in the University of Miami case as the investigation continues.
