A high school senior recruited for the Varsity football team was severely beaten in a fight with a team player at the D.U. final club a month ago, the recruit and other players said yesterday.

The D.U. was closed Wednesday for a one-month "cooling-off period," D.U. Vice President David M. Sprinkle '96 said yesterday.

Louis I. Kane '53, the president of the D.U.'s graduate board, said even after the club reopens, it will shut down at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights for the remainder of the academic year.

John Burnham, a star quarterback from Washington, D.C., was taken to the club to "show him a good time" on his recruiting trip, according to players.

But at the end of the evening he and linebacker Sean Hansen '95 became involved in a fight. Burnham was beaten so severely that it required surgery to fix a blow-out fracture to his left eye.

Hansen went before the Administrative Board and was put on disciplinary probation Tuesday, according to Varsity football Captain Justin Frantz '96.

In interviews yesterday, students gave different accounts of what happened at the D.U. four weekends ago.

Burnham and one football player who asked to remain anonymous said that it was Hansen and others started the fight.

According to Burnham, all parties involved had consumed significant quantities of alcohol. During the evening, Burnham entered into dis putts with Hansen and another unidentifiedstudent over issues such as whether or not Burnhamhad left his jacket in an upstairs room andwhether or not he had a big mouth.

Burnham left the club feeling "verballyabused," he said, and decided to return in orderto confront Hansen.

"When I cam back into the club to have wordswith Hansen, soon a I walked in I was hit,"Burnham said.

"I'm no angel," he said. "And I did return tothe club, but I didn't expect to be jumped on."

Burnham, who submitted a statement to the AdBoard, said that roughly five Harvard studentsattacked him when he entered DU for the secondtime.

Hansen declined to comment on them matteryesterday.

"There was an entire investigation by theUniversity," he said. "I don't want to make publicwhat should be confidential."

Hansen said he had not used excessive force,but refused to elaborate.