CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – A Tennessee school district canceled its high school basketball season amid a rape investigation involving numerous players on the Ooltewah High School team.

Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith announced Wednesday he canceled the remainder of the Ooltewah High School season “so the criminal justice system can work the way we expect,” the Associated Press reports.

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Three students who have not been named currently face aggravated rape and aggravated assault charges related to an alleged hazing incident between team members at a tournament in Gatlinburg. The charges stem from one student who required surgery after an assault by several teammates, though some parents allege other students have been victims of the hazing, as well, according to the news service.

“This decision is not a reflection upon the coaching staff,” Smith said. “Indeed, law enforcement officials have to date found no evidence any adult acted improperly. Likewise, this decision is not meant to punish the boys on the team who are innocent of any wrongdoing and simply want to play high school sports.”

Wednesday night, more than 100 people attended a school board meeting to get more answers about the hazing incident and investigation, and were sorely disappointed. In the four-minute meeting, board chairman Jonathan Welch assured the public the alleged assault won’t be “swept under the rug,” but declined to provide any other details and closed the meeting, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports.

“The public is looking for answers and, unfortunately, we won’t have any tonight,” he said.

“I ask that law enforcement be allowed to do their jobs and investigate,” Welch said. “We cannot supersede any law enforcement investigation, but we can benefit from their investigation if we give them the space to work.”

That investigation involves law enforcement officers in Hamilton County, where Ooltewah High School is located, and in Sevier County, where the alleged hazing in Gatlinburg occurred.

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Welch directed all questions to the Hamilton County District Attorney’s Office, the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, or school board attorney Scott Bennett.

Bennett told the Times Free Press that police instructed district officials not to conduct their own investigation until the criminal investigation is complete. Authorities also banned school officials from discussing the case, according to the news site.

The Ooltawah Owls had 13 games left in the season when school officials called junior varsity and varsity teams into the cafeteria before Wednesday’s board meeting to inform them their season is over. The freshman team will continue to play.

Parents and others have called on school officials to end the season since the alleged attack on a 15-year-old freshman player Dec. 22 that sent him to the hospital with a ruptured colon and bladder.

Bernard Childress, executive director with the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, said he believes it’s the first time a Tennessee school has canceled a season in any sport during the 22 years he’s been with the organization.

“This would be a first in my memory, in our state,” he told the Times Free Press.

The aunt of the victim, who was not identified to shield the victim’s identity, told the news site the boy is recovering at home with a colostomy bag and catheter, and the family is unsure if he will need additional surgeries to repair the damage.

He told police at least three other boys were abused during the Gatlinburg trip, and described the “beatings” as a “ritual for freshmen.”