[Ravenholme]

A teenage girl who was dropped from her high school's cheerleading squad after refusing to chant the name of a basketball player who had sexually assaulted her must pay compensation of $45,000 (£27,300) after losing a legal challenge against the decision.

The United States Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a review of the case brought by the woman, who is known only as HS. Lower courts had ruled that she was speaking for the school, rather than for herself, when serving on a cheerleading squad – meaning that she had no right to stay silent when coaches told her to applaud.

She was 16 when she said she had been raped at a house party attended by dozens of fellow students from Silsbee High School, in south-east Texas. One of her alleged assailants, a student athlete called Rakheem Bolton, was arrested, with two other young men.

In court, Bolton pleaded guilty to the misdemeanour assault of HS. He received two years of probation, community service, a fine and was required to take anger-management classes. The charge of rape was dropped, leaving him free to return to school and take up his place on the basketball team.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cheerleader-must-compensate-school-that-told-her-to-clap-rapist-2278522.html   (There are others)

Accurately sums up my response

[JCDNWarrior]

Free money for the school, it would seem.

[Thaeris]

I am thoroughly disgusted. May the school board burn in Hell.

[Qent]

No... she sued the school for dropping her from the team, costing the school some legal expenses. IMO she should have quit the team anyway if that was going to be an issue.

[headdie]

No... she sued the school for dropping her from the team, costing the school some legal expenses. IMO she should have quit the team anyway if that was going to be an issue.

no

A teenage girl who was dropped from her high school's cheerleading squad after refusing to chant the name of a basketball player who had sexually assaulted her must pay compensation of $45,000 (£27,300) after losing a legal challenge against the decision.

the school won according to the quted report

[Qent]

Um, yes, she sued the school and lost.

In September last year, a federal appeals court upheld those decisions and announced that HS must also reimburse the school sistrict $45,000, for filing a "frivolous" lawsuit against it.

Sorry if I wasn't clear.

[PsychoLandlord]

Wow. To hell with that school board, and the resolution to the original assault is painfully indicative of most Schools in Texas. Can't lose the guys on the sports team, no matter what.

[Thaeris]

No... she sued the school for dropping her from the team, costing the school some legal expenses. IMO she should have quit the team anyway if that was going to be an issue.

That may be true, but I still cannot justify a ruling which indirectly upholds characters of lax morals. Now, we cannot be sure of her past involvement with the individual in question, but I feel inclined to lean towards the side of the woman.

Stating that she should have left the organization to begin with isn't improper. But, keep in mind that which makes for a significant element in a young adult's livelihood isn't something the individual in question is liable to just give up on. Given that she was the victim in the prior scenario, without prompting the event, I don't feel that she should have felt that she needed to leave her position, and furthermore can empathize with her ensuing action.

[Nuclear1]

Words fail me.  Unless I'm missing some very important facts, the members of the school board now rank among the worst people in the world.

[Qent]

A lot of things probably should have happened. My gut says the rapist should have been booted from the team, since they couldn't expel him from the school. Maybe the rape charge should have been pursued further. But, given that he's still on the team and the cheerleaders are cheering, I don't see how she could practically be permitted to cheer for only the other guys, or only at games where he's not present.

[Dilmah G]

I now have less faith in the US judicial system than I had when I started, which was not a lot. I want to know who the bloody hell was on the jury...

[PsychoLandlord]

I now have less faith in the US judicial system than I had when I started, which was not a lot. I want to know who the bloody hell was on the jury...

Texans, probably local parents who wanted the team to continue winning. I'd put money on this kid being their star player, or at least very good.

[achtung]

Sports are really important guys it's what makes a school good don't you know? Without sports school wouldn't be worth having nobody cares about those book things as long as the teachers keep giving our athletes straight As who cares am I right? Our athletes are gifts from god that get us attention on the state and local news they could never do bad things to other people at all nope. Go team!

[jr2]

I am thoroughly disgusted. May the school board burn in Hell.

Summarizes my sentiments.  EDIT: Although I would never wish for someone to burn in Hell, that sort of describes the feeling I get... I don't know how to explain.

[redsniper]

**** my state.

[PsychoLandlord]

**** my state.

Do what I did. Move away. 

[Beskargam]

ahhh hey this is like Carmel's B-Ball team butt raping a another basketball player and they all got off! way to go US justice system. disgusting
 

[karajorma]

I'm amazed any of the Cheerleaders clapped for this guy.

[Herra Tohtori]

OK I'm going to play the advocatus diaboli here and pick some things apart.


We don't have all the pertinent information to the case. Most of you seem to be treating this case like the word of the cheerleader is automatically the correct one. The article posted takes the same view which I consider bad journalism - it clearly paints the athlete as a rapist, no matter the dropped charge.

The rape charge was dropped. Even if the athlete in question pleaded guilty to misdemeanour assault (whatever that is in Texas legislation), that doesn't mean automatically that he as guilty of rape. He could have been, but if there was no evidence to convict or even sufficient evidence to prosecute (the charge was dropped), then it shouldn't be assumed that he did it.



However considering the athlete in question did plead guilty to assault on the cheerleader, I don't think upholding her expulsion from the cheerleading team is quite right either, nor is assigning the school's court expenses for her to pay. Clearly there was some credence to the cheerleader's claims, even if the rape charge was dismissed.

Sure, the case stinks of favouritism, but above all it sounds like the letter of the law superceding the spirit of the law.

The worst part of it is of course that the court ordered the girl to pay the court expenses of the school. 45000 dollars, really? Is that what a public legal counsel costs these days, or is it customary in Amurrica that you can hire as expensive a lawyer as you wish, and if you win the case the other side will have to pay their expenses?

That doesn't sound right to me at all - it creates a preferential system to the people who have the money to hire expensive and good lawyers in the first place, leaving those who don't have money to use (probably overworked and stressed) public legal counselors...

[jr2]

OJ anyone?