Update, January 3: According to the victim’s grandmother, the boy is “doing better, and trying to walk.” She says that two of the three students who are charged in the attack are still being held in Juvenile Detention, while the third has been granted bond.
Original story from January 1:
On Christmas Eve morning, I heard that a freshman Ooltewah High School basketball player had been the victim of a sexual attack. The incident occurred while the team was in Gatlinburg for a holiday tournament, staying in a rental cabin. The anonymous tipster said the perpetrators were three older teammates. The incident was described in graphic detail. As told, the story was shocking, and disgusting.
Since those involved are 17 and under (a senior and two sophomores), news outlets have been unable to confirm exactly what happened, although some have reported rumors anyway. Quoting people who are said to be family members, there are numerous accounts of how many students were injured, and what happened after the fact.
According to most of the stories, the attack involved a pool cue stick. According to the reports, at first some of the coaches, police, and/or medics did not believe the situation was that serious. We were told one police officer dismissed it as “horseplay,” declining to arrest anyone. We were also told that the victim was initially treated and released from a Sevierville hospital, before his condition worsened, requiring surgery and a week-long stay at UT Medical Center in Knoxville. I was told on that same morning, by the principal of Ooltewah High School, that “it was a violation of team policy, which is being investigated, and would be dealt with.” Certainly no alarms were set off by that statement.
Due to a combination of holidays, flooding, and a lack of credible information, the story did not get a lot of attention through Christmas weekend. Gatlinburg police were saying very little, as is standard policy in cases involving minors. I now know that at least one Hamilton County school official was dispatched to Gatlinburg in recent days to gather information, preparing for a School Board executive session meeting scheduled for Wednesday January 6 (it will be closed to the media and public).
District 1 School Board member Rhonda Thurman has expressed her dissatisfaction with the school district administration’s somewhat muffled response to the controversy. A former athlete herself, she told me she is “horrified” that a sexual assault took place “right under the noses” of teammates and coaches. “Someone had to know this was going on! Why didn’t anyone stop it?” she said, not trying to hide her emotion and anger. Noting that the team has continued to play its regular schedule, she asked, “Why has their season not been cancelled?”
In a rapidly changing media world fueled by social media, neither Superintendent Rick Smith nor Ooltewah principal Jim Jarvis reacted quickly enough to satisfy many critics. A credible argument can be made on their behalf: How do you respond, and comment on a case in which you don’t know all the facts? No doubt, the rumors reported by some media outlets, and others posted on Facebook have been more widely viewed than anything official released by police, because they haven’t said much of anything.
You can choose to believe the aunts, the friends of a friend, the unnamed people who say they are parents of team members, the people who say they used to be on the team, or whoever you like. No doubt, some of them know what they’re talking about. Yet the discrepancies in many stories prove some of them don’t.
In the meantime, the story has gone viral: facts, rumors, and speculation. From New York to London to Paris and People magazine, Ooltewah is in the news. This is sad to me, because I consider Ooltewah High to be a terrific school, with many great teachers and high-achieving students. I hurt for them, because they’re rightfully proud of their school.
Although news outlets, as a rule, protect the identity of rape victims, the young man’s name and photo are easily accessible on Facebook. A woman identified as his aunt has established a GoFundMe page to help with expenses, and it has been seen by thousands.
A female teen, said to be an Ooltewah student, made a crude, sick joke about the attack; a sad reflection on the culture and attitudes often expressed on social media, largely unmonitored by adults. It too, has gone viral. Were children always this mean? Or are we just more aware of it in the Facebook era?
Any assurances from the superintendent that the school district is on the case have come a few days late. Vacations and holidays should be sacred, but extraordinary events require extraordinary actions. No one expects the answers to every question, but they want to know the situation is being taken seriously. They want to hear that steps are being taken to punish those responsible, to assure parents and students that Ooltewah High is safe, and that its athletics programs are properly supervised. That may happen in the days to come, but with each passing day of “We’ll get to that later,” it only fuels more anger and fear.
Here are some questions that need to be answered:
- What is being done to ensure that such unsupervised incidents will not happen during future school athletic trips?
- Has such “hazing” or other violent incidents occurred previously in the Ooltewah athletics programs? If so, what actions have been taken?
- After a teammate has been brutally injured and violated by three (now-dismissed) players, is it appropriate for a team to immediately resume its schedule, as if nothing had happened?
- Was this a one-time event, or has a culture of “out-of-control” athletes been tolerated at Ooltewah and other schools?
- Were other teammates present during the incident? If so, did they participate in a non-physical way (taking video, etc.), or did they try to stop the attack?
- We know the 3 players have been dismissed from the team, and now face criminal charges. Will any adults be held accountable for lack of supervision?
I’ll close with this. Ooltewah High’s reputation has suffered, and perhaps someone at the school bears a certain amount of responsibility.
But let’s get to the core issue: What has happened in our society, that children are allowed to grow up without learning the basics of acceptable human behavior? I don’t see horrible actions like this taught in schools. Who is in charge at home? If teenagers think it’s okay to brutalize a friend (a teammate!), and then to laugh about it on social media, what have we come to? Where are we going?
I am thankful for the good students who are excelling in school, setting good examples for their younger peers. I’m glad they take education and citizenship seriously. We will need them to protect us from those who have no respect for others. Until adults in the home take control of their families, schools will have to deal with the consequences of neglect.
You are absolutely right. Where is the moral and ethical boundaries? How can any human being treat another like this? What type of values are being taught at home and in public? We as a society have raised a generation of children who have no respect for authority, no moral conscience, and an attitude of you owe me. We have taken God out of education, court houses, and government; and we wonder why we have the problems that we do. This sort of behavior would not have happened 10, 20, 30 years ago. And if it did it certainly wouldn’t have been tolerated. Political correctness wins over decent human behavior. Sad day for us as a city, and a nation. Prayers for the kids that were hurt physically and emotionally. Hope that the offenders can be rehabilitated to grow up as decent human beings.
This type of behavior has happened 10, 20, 30 years ago. What’s changed is the media’s inclination to graphically report it. I remember hazing incidents from 30+ years ago that resulted in death.
This has nothing to do with political correctness. I have no idea what basis you think you have for that comment.
Of course this behavior happened in the past. What a ridiculous thing to write! It used to be hushed up and now with the 24/7 media and internet it is harder to hid abuse. And what on earth does “political correctness” have to do with aggressive acts by men on weaker men and the glorification of athletes in our culture???
Thank you for this article. I have been very concerned that Rick Smith and the other school administrators have not acted sooner. You asked questions many of us have asked ourselves.
I do not believe that our culture has declined to the point that young people do not know right from wrong! If it has, we are all doomed! I believe there is no way on earth these perpetrators didn’t know it was wrong…therefore they are criminals, better yet animals! If parents don’t start parenting, teaching morals, teaching right from wrong, teaching about God, teaching respect, teaching values for life and for mankind,this is the danger we will face forevermore! I worry for the future for my children and grandchildren! GOD HELP US,
(1) Social media’s darkest side is its ability to spread rumors. Particularly, unfounded rumors. Neither am I a huge fan of professional media, but at least you guys don’t report rumors as facts.
(2) I don’t like Thurman’s accusation that it happened “right under the noses” of coaches. We all know that no group of kids can be monitored every minute of every day.
(3) Could other teammates have stopped it? Obviously, yes. But, apparently, there were none present who wanted to. At least none brave enough to. Besides, with zero tolerance staring them in the face others are afraid to step in.
(4) Should the team be allowed to continue their schedule? Of course. Unless it is immediately obvious that the entire team was in on the incident.
(5) I can’t believe the term “hazing” is even being used. This wasn’t a hazing, which is a term referring to an initiation. This was a crime, and the perpetrators should be punished to the full extent of the law.
(6) As far as the public’s curiosity of what’s being done about it – the public is not in charge. In my years of community service I know that there are phone calls, meetings, etc., happening that the public doesn’t know about. I assure you that this situation is being looked at by every person and organization authorized to do so. And I assure you that lawyers for the defense are looking at every way possible to see that these boys get a fair trial, even though most of us don’t see any fairness in it.
I urge everyone to take a step back and let the proper people handle it.
I believe that part of the outrage right now comes from parents of students who attend Ooltewah or other county schools. It is pretty well known that the athletes at Ooltewah have a different standard of behavior that is much more lax than what it is with other students who are not athletes. Parents want to know that their children are safe. They want to know that when their children are at school, they aren’t going to be attacked by an student athlete and the incident swept under the rug because all that is important is that the team keep playing.
Part of the rumors going around include statements saying that the victim had told the coaches that the younger members of the team were being bullied…notice that word…by the older members. I will be very interested to find out whether or not Mr. Montgomery was told during the stay at that cabin what was happening before it happened. Maybe Rhonda Thurman is right. But I can’t imagine that the parents of other student athletes won’t be worried about their child’s safety while with the team. I think that you own response to point #3 above verifies why the answer to point #4 should have been “no.”
Overall, no one will know the truth until it is verified. However, after years of having children in this very school, experience tells me that there won’t be a comprehensive answer that will confirm the future safety of other students or allay the parents’ fears. That is the one thing that needs to be addressed and it needs to be addressed right away.
As someone who participated in many overnight high school trips (a mere ten years ago, and in this County though not with Ooltewah) I can’t say I have an issue with Thurman’s “under their noses” remark, because I’ve asked that exact question myself. Where was the coach and any chaperones? No you can’t watch every childevery minute of every day, but think about the logistics of this situation…
1) By all accounts the team was in a rented cabin, not a large hotel where they could have been spaced out too far or found empty unlocked conference rooms to carry out the assault. It’s not as if the coach/chaperone could have been 20 rooms away or two floors above/below. It was a cabin, meaning limited space inside, so either the coach/chaperone ignored the sounds of multiple teenagers out of bed, or the coach/chaperone somehow missed multiple teenagers sneaking out of the cabin to carry out the attack somewhere else.
2) Can you honestly tell me that you expect the coaches/chaperones wouldn’t have heard the young mans screams of pain? If they couldn’t hear any screaming it can be assumed the kid was forcibly held down and gagged by his fellow teammates, adding yet another level to the heinousness to the attack because the teammates clearly knew this was something they would get in MAJOR trouble for should the adults become aware of it, which brings up questions of not only how these attackers are raised, but also the complacency of their coach with any bad behavior. I would assume it should be a given that any adults that are looked at as being capable of taking children out of town on overnight trips should be pseudo-parent figures to the kids. The coach should have had his own rules and expectations of behavior from his team as well as expected punishments that go farther than running extra sprints. It’s his job as an authority figure to the basketball team to control their behavior and ensure their safety while under his care.
3) I think the team should have had some games forfeited at the least rather than resuming play immediately. No it is not fair to punish the team as a whole for the actions of some, however to immediately resume play would indicate that a) they care more about finishing their season and getting wins in the book than about their assaulted teammate(s) and b) that one good stern talking to and the banishment of the three arrested players is clearly enough punishment for the basketball team as a whole, which to me doesn’t seem to reinforce any kind of code of behavior or expectations of how the team is to carry itself off the basketball court. If the younger players, who may have experienced some similar form of “hazing” who will shortly be the leaders of the team see no serious reprimands or consequences because of this assault, what is to say they won’t continue with such actions, and just be more careful and more secretive??
Lack of consequences constitutes a lack of responsibility, which is a problem the younger generations of this country seem to have. No accountability means I can do whatever I want. It’s up to parents, coaches, school board members, principals, and all assorted authority figures to teach the children they are responsible for (even if only for an hour a day in one class a week) the acceptable rules of behavior. I can’t blame the other students for not stopping the attack as it happened, they are young teenagers high school is a hard transition time and a lot of people just want to fly under the radar, not makes waves, just do their part get their diploma and get out. But I would hope that this is the first time an assault of this nature has occurred, if for no other reason than I would hope at least one player somewhere would have told their parents what was going on and the parents would have then taken the necessary steps to alerts the coaches and principal. At least I hope enstill those kinds of values in my own son, “if you don’t feel comfortable confronting your teammates and you don’t feel comfortable going to your coach, you can always come to your parents”.
As a basketball coach myself, I’m reserving opinion on the actions of the coaching staff until all facts are known, if they are ever released.
As for your assertions about the games being played, let’s look at it from another perspective. Ooltewah has played three games since this incident. Those three games were in the TFP Best of Preps tournament that was held Dec 26th, 28th and 29th. Ooltewah had an obligation to tournament to field a team. If they had cancelled or suspended their season at that point, the tournament would have been left without a team as the TSSAA only allows teams to participate in two tournaments and no team would have been available as an 11th hour entrant. To not participate in the tournament would have caused significant scheduling and logistics problems for multiple teams.
Regardless of the appropriateness of the actions of the coaching staff on the night of the incident (that remains to be determined), I think that they were spot-on by showing their remaining players that you always own up to your responsibilities regardless of circumstance. Now that the tournament is over and the obligation to play was met, it wouldn’t be a bad thing for them to suspend the season pending investigation.
I find it hard to believe that every player was involved. With that said, those kids who had no part in the crime should be allowed to continue with their season. They have been practicing and working hard since way back in the summer. They shouldn’t be punished for the actions/inactions of others.
Just my two cents…
I’m not a coach, but I wonder if they would’ve left the tournament if one player had shot another player and he had almost died? This young man could’ve DIED from his injuries. Millions of women all over the world have died from similar injuries during rape. The rape is horrible enough, but when two major organs are severely damaged (Sevierville Hospital, you’ve got huge egg on your face), this is attempted murder. And you’re going to compete in a tournament?
I’m not talking about the tournament in Gatlinburg. I’m talking about the one in Chattanooga that they were committed to play in. By the time the Best of Preps tournament started, the victim had undergone surgery, the criminals had been removed from the team and the team had returned home from the Gatlinburg tournament where the incident happened.
The question at hand was, why they continued to play their scheduled games and I was merely pointing out that the team had an obligation to participate and they lived up to that obligation. Should players who were not involved be punished for the actions of the few who were? Should other teams that are expecting to compete in a tournament be penalized because a few kids on a basketball team cannot behave appropriately? Tough questions to answer and I’m glad that I didn’t have to make those choices.
These comments sadly prove that some people do not fully grasp the seriousness of what happened. Logistics – seriously? Hate to break the news to you – but there are things more important than sports. Considering what happened, meeting team “obligations” is a minor point.
Chuck, you can’t be serious. This was attempted murder and you’re concerned about game obligations. We are concerned about the safety of our children. A loud and clear message has to be sent out to other teams that this will not be tolerated. If things go on business as usual that message will not be heard.
What if the victim was someone not on the team? What if the three criminals had attacked someone that they found walking on the sidewalk of Gatlinburg? Would you still be asking that the team suspend playing their games or would them being removed from the team be enough? What if this hadn’t happened at an overnight stay? What if they just attacked someone in their neighborhood and were removed from the team? Would you still want the team to forego their games? Would you still want the punish the innocent players?
Hundreds of teams and thousands of players throughout the State of Tennessee just spent Thanksgiving and/or Christmas break away from home participating in basketball tournaments. They do this every year. While this was a horrific incident, this is an isolated incident and not a beginning of and epidemic. Most kids understand that this is not acceptable behavior. Most kids understand that you do not treat other human beings like this. Unfortunately, these three had no moral compass or human compassion. I don’t see that canceling or suspending the remaining games would send any type of loud and clear message.
The one’s that need to receive the “loud and clear” message are the one’s like these three, but they who have no regard for human life or consequences of their actions, so would that message be received? Unfortunately, in a world that we have created by placing kids in time-out instead of real punishment, we have a generation of kids who do not fear getting in trouble because there are no real consequences of their actions.
And, if you go back and read my original post, I’m not opposed to suspending the regular season games until the investigation is complete enough to ensure that all guilty parties (directly or indirectly involved) have been removed from the team. But, I don’t have a problem with the fact that OHS honored it’s obligation to a major tournament and competed in three games.
Chuck,
There is no reply button below your statement so I am replying above. I can assure you this is not an isolated incident. This incident would not have been known if the boy hadn’t passed out. If like you say the three had attacked a pedestrian i would call that an isolated incident.
To hell with the obligation to the tournament! What about the obligation of the coaches, chaperones and other team members to watch out for the well being of their own team members? It’s a life and death matter!
Your priorities amaze me..
True I agree this happen when either when coaches all chaperones should have been present there is no excuse me teenagers unattended basketball team or not serious diseases should be over at that point in this point forward doesn’t matter how hard I try no prepare for the season it doesn’t melt a child about lost his life what’s more important the life of sports
I agree with you 100%. I wanted to add that kids who are bullied are also threatened and in that situation they are afraid to tell anyone. I am disgusted that the coach/school still pushed the team to play. I think it would create a larger accountability if the team was forced to end their season. I agree that the coach and chaperons had to have heard the screams of the young man especially being that they were all located on one floor. I have lost all respect for this coach. I feel that he felt that his job was more important than the fate and feelings of the victim. The coach and school should have showed their support and remorse for this young man by halting and stopping any further games of the season. I am so saddened by all of this.
Thank you for asking the tough questions that many of us, especially those who both parent and educate, want answers to, yet at the same time remain fair and objective. Another reason why you have remained one of Chattanooga’s most trusted journalists.
I have been an educator for over 30 years; I have seen a steady decline of moral and ethical boundaries in the last ten years. The government has taken away our rights to discipline our students for their actions; parents cannot “pop” their child’s backside for fear of being turned in to DCS, so children quickly learn that they can do what they want and have no real consequences for bad behavior. When a 5 year old child tells his teacher to f*** off, and the teacher has no recourse other than a time out for the child, what message are we sending to that child and his classmates? Public Ed is in trouble, and there is no easy answer. These guys knew right from wrong, they just figured they had the right to do what they wanted.
Well said, Lindy!
Lindy, good points! Thank you for reading. David
You are absolutely right Lindy
I totally agree with you Lindy as a former Educator in the public system. The children know there are no real consequences for their actions.These guys are old enough to know better and not one family member should make one excuse for their actions. When three youth get together of like mind to care out something like this…there is something wrong and to think they could get away with it.
You are absolutely right Lindy. Thank you. As far as doing away with the rest of there season, it needs to be done as an example that this kind of behavior is just that serious.
When did holidays and flooding become more important than a 15 year being brutally attacked by fellow teammates? Has it been the nature of this crime that has yielded everyone, including the media, silent? Only Rhonda Thurman has stepped up and demanded action. Rick smith has said that he is turning the matter over to Lee McDade for handling. Why?
Beth, speaking only for myself, it’s difficult to report information when nothing official is accessible. I don’t like to report rumors, and I have no respect for media outlets that engage in that practice. I waited until we were able to get some verified information, although it’s been hard to obtain. That often happens in cases involving minors. There are a lot of rumors on Facebook, but I don’t believe everything I read there.
Maybe what Beth is saying is that this incident happened before Christmas and while it seems particularly brutal, no one at the main office of the school system or at Ooltewah High School seemed to report anything other than a trivial matter. This raises concern for other parents of children in this or other county schools. As such, I think that the parents need to be assured that the appropriate action will be taken and that these students won’t be back in school. Or that this won’t happen again in the future. As your article so aptly stated, David Carroll, there are still lot of questions that need to be answered and I believe that the Hamilton County Board of Education needs to do that as soon as possible.
Thank you David for your reasoned and professional approach to this issue. Your points are well made.
Hazing in sports has been happening since the first team was formed. It’s not a new situation at all that has appeared all of a sudden. The dark side of human nature has been around for a long, long time and will always be lurking in the shadows. However,given your and other’s dedication to bringing it to light it might seem so to some . . .
What will help with the problem today is to not shame the victim and to pursue the perpetrators – AND to speak openly about the issue with teams and other students to make sure that it’s clearly not acceptable behavior.
That’s the only way to make it happen less now than in the past when it was swept under the table or tolerated as a “right of passage”. Sports can do good things in the lives of the folks who participate. Likewise sports can do horrible things. It’s important to focus on the good and deal with the bad in the most constructive and positive manner possible.
Good points Bill, ask anyone that had went to Ooltewah’s football camp at Carson Newman in the 80s and they will tell you this comes as no surprise. Kids today aren’t any worse than they were back then. The internet and cell phones have made it a lot easier to shed light on things like this. It’s very important that the comunity and our leaders make a big deal of this otherwise the players and coaches will not. If you don’t believe me look at coach Chuck’s statement above.
Well said, David. You always are a ‘voice of reason.’ Thank you.
Jan, thanks for reading, and for those kind words. David Carroll
A lot of comments about what Rick Smith and the Ham Co Schools are going to do. Seems to me they have done most of the discipline they can do. They have removed the boys from the team, and probably will remove them from school permanently. Now the police take over; this is a criminal action, pure and simple – no “discipline” needed here, these guys are old enough to know right from wrong, and chose to be violent. To a teammate. The long-term consequences of their actions is not yet know. It is known that their victim could have died. I hope the three who did this monstrous act will be tried as adults. And I hope the teen who made the sick joke will be found out by her parents, and I hope that they give her the mother of all groundings.
No, they haven’t even begun to do what they should do. And the more I think about it, the principal should be fired, also. To think they played games after this incident is disgusting. The program should be put on probation for the rest of the year.
Yes the school has nearly gone as far as they can about punishing the three known offenders, the only other action left is to expel those three students. But I think a lot of people are upset over the fact that there seems to have been no disciplinary actions taken in regards to the basketball team as a whole. No it’s not “fair” to punish everyone for the actions of a few team members, I can understand not wanting to damage college prospects of other senior players who want to gain scholarships for college, but there needs to be a more in depth investigation into the team to see if these kind of assaults are a regular occurrence or if this was some bizarre exceptional circumstance carried out more as an instance of aggression towards this particular student by these three particular older students. I think that’s a fair question that the parents of the team members deserve to have answered and that’s only something the school can do. Games should have been haunted and forfeited or postponed until a thorough investigation could be completed and all necessary disciplinary action taken in regards to any other players.
Great article. Exactly what needed to be said. And exactly what is on everyone’s mind. Thank you.
For starters, every coach should be fired. The AD should possibly be fired. Guessing he was at the tournament since he is a former basketball coach and player (I think at Notre Dame High).
There is no excuse for this situation not being handled IMMEDIATELY by Hamilton County Schools. Shame on Rick Smith. Gutless.
In addition, I think the TSSAA should step in and make a statement (just like the NCAA did with Penn State) by banning the team from competition for the rest of the season. Possibly other penalties.
Some people are saying we need more evidence, etc, before acting. No we don’t.
This is one of the most tragic local news stories I can recall. I pray that God will help him and his mother through this. I think He will. And I hope the three perps get theirs in prison.
Bill,
If an employee at Walmart punches a customer, does the CEO lose their job? Seriously, the coach in no way knew of this. Athletics, like most other school organizations which involve kids, have always had some type of hazing going on inside them when adults are not around. If your kid assaulted another, should you lost your kids and they be given up for adoption? You have obviously never been responsible for a large group of people. Here is how this should be handled after all the facts come out.
If all is true and this went down as we now here, all students involved should be suspended indefinitely. Depending on age, they should be tried for assault. The coaches need to be put thru training which involve prevention of hazing as well as training for how to keep up with their athletes. The school system will need to adopt a policy for “no tolerance of hazing” and proper guidelines need to be followed.
People need to become more educated before they speak out about things in our society. Educated doesnt have to mean college degrees, but more so common sense. Our world is real people, and things happen. Lashing out doesnt help them one bit. Suspending a team, punishing kids who had nothing to do with it, is asinine.
Nate, the Walmart example is a bad one.
Yes, hazing has been around forever. But this is a little different. An example has to be made out of Ooltewah High School.
If there are team members who have to suffer because of the inaction of their coaches and administrators, that is just too bad. Happens all the time. A few years ago a fan (I believe from Sequatchie County) assaulted a softball official. The TSSAA kicked Sequatchie out of the tournament. You have to make an example sometimes.
The Sequatchie incident happened at/during a game. That is why they were removed (It also states in the rules that fans can cause a team to be penalized).
The walmart is not a bad example. Much like the AD, the CEO of walmart does not control every single employee. How old were these kids? Old enough to work and drive yes? Do we watch 16 and 17 year olds all the time to make sure they dont make mistakes and screw up? common now….
Nate, TSSAA penalizes for things that occur outside the field of play, too. McCallie had its entire sports program put on probation for two years about 20 years ago for violations.
Walmart is a terrible comparison. Walmart has its CEO in Arkansas. Ooltewah’s coach is in Ooltewah. The principal is in Ooltewah. Walmart has tens of thousands of employees. Harder for a CEO of such of an organization to follow what is going on at the store level. Ooltewah basketball team has maybe five employees.
Nate,
The basketball coach may not have had anything to do with this directly but sadly he still needs to lose his job. His primary focus should have been to keep our kids safe first and foremost. He failed at that. He may be a great person and a great coach but a message of zero tolerance needs to be sent out. If this is done the next coach will have a renewed sense of priorities when it comes to the safety of our children. Assuming this was your child would you say the same.
Also, I forgot to mention. You mentioned the NCAA and Penn State. You do realize (obviously not, as you such carelessly posted) that the severity of Penn State’s punishment wasnt because a single incident took place, but that this had been going on for YEARS and not only that, all the head people (JOE P, Coaches, etc) were actually AWARE it happened and chose to COVER IT UP. Now, just to humor you some, if for some reason it comes out that the AD, the principal, the superintendent and Obama all knew of this before it happened and did not step in, then they do need to be reprimanded. If they covered it up, then even worse needs to happen. Know your information before you hand out judgment. “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. 2″For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.…”
I’m aware of what happened at Penn State. No two situations are going to be exactly the same. It is my opinion that the Ooltewah High School needs to be handed down the most severe punishment possible.
why the most severe? what happens if something like this occurs 10 yrs from now but then everyone covers it up for a decade, then it comes out? You cannot always push for the death penalty when worse is out there. It was obviously horrendous, but it could have been much worse. I feel for the student’s family and for him (dont think I dont) but one also has to see it from a Coaches, AD’s, principal’s point of view. If it happened to my kid, I would be upset but would not expect some of the things you are saying.
What about the Vanderbilt football players and the Duke Soccer team where rape was involved. Did any coaches lose their job? I think parents are accountable as well.
exactly what the public doesnt want to hear…parents are responsible! If that can trickle back into our school systems, everyone would be better for it!
Thank you Bill! You are 100% right.
Is there not a rule that a member of the school’s administration be at least present during their team’s sanctioned athletic events? Can’t imagine that an administrator would travel back & forth for each individual game. I would think that person would be staying in Gatlinburg for the entire time that OHS was involved in the tournament, even if not in the cabin.
Was there an administrator there, and if so; what was their response to this whole incident?
Good questions, hopefully we’ll know the answers soon. Thanks for reading, David Carroll
In most school districts, an administrator has to be at all home games, not away. It is ridiculous to ask 2 or 3 administrators to travel that much throughout the year. some schools have over 10 athletic teams!
Simple solution here going forward. Separate upper classmen and lower classmen into different cabins. There were three adults this could have been done. And if you are concerned about cost of two cabins just compare that with litigation costs that the county is about to be hit with. You’ll quickly see that cost is trivial.
The rule is a member of administration or their designee must be present at all games. What generally happens is this… at home games there will be a “game administrator” which is usually a Principal, Assistant Principal or Athletic Director. For away games, one of the coaches or assistant coaches will be designated as the administrator in charge. There is a “game administrator’s” meeting that takes place prior to all TSSAA athletic contests and that meeting has the home team administrator, referees, head coaches of both teams and a representative from security. Visiting team administrator is not required to be present in the meeting. At tournaments, the tournament director, or their designee, acts as the game administrator.
Mr. Carroll, I echo others’ comments and thank yous for your well thought out article and professionalism – thank you.
I also agree with an earlier comment about calling this crime a “hazing.” To me, that’s just another way of minimizing a violent crime of rape, and with multiple perps, I believe it would further be defined as a gang rape.
Long after all this is “dealt with,” long after any court case scenario for the perps, this young man will be living with the life-long aftereffects of this horrific crime. To this young man: Godspeed in your recovery, and may you consider yourself a survivor – because you are. (This may shape your future, but this does not define you.)
Abby, thanks for your kind words. David Carroll
I have read comments now about how the hospital didnt do its job by not giving the boy a through exam in the beginning. As a mother of three boys I can tell you they are not going to admit someone did this to them until its absolutely necessary. This was not HAZING, this was an assault. It is not the coaches fault or the schools, it rests squarely on the shoulders of those three young MEN. As far as teammates knowing about it, they had to have known, but they can’t do anything to stop an assault. My son was attacked at school two years ago, he was punched and kicked, he DID NOT hit his assailant at all, however due to ZERO TOLERANCE he was punished along with his attacker! That is the reason no one will speak up…..
David,
I have been a child advocate in the courts and community for the past 27 years. I spent most of my career educating children on how to speak up for themselves when they are being bullied or abused. The basketball player from Ooltewah High School did speak up for himself. Unfortunately he reported the bullying to some Neanderthal Coach/Adult who put him back in an unprotected and unsafe environment where the bullying escalated to aggravated rape and assault. I have to wonder if it was the same Neanderthal Coach who decided to allow this team to continue playing to win the tournament while one of their own team players was having emergency surgery to remove the pool cue from his colon and bladder that was rammed there by three other team members.
I agree completely with Rhonda Thurman. This team should not be allowed to continue playing basketball. What happened to teaching children that being part of a team meant supporting, caring, protecting and looking out for each other? That the most important thing is not winning at any cost? What about character, leadership, and compassion for others? The actions of the “three star players” are a reflection of how our priorities must be changed to teach our children that actions have consequences. The actions of any team member affect all the team.
Shame on all of us for allowing our community to care more about winning a tournament than protecting a child who tried to reach out to an adult for help. This is one of the most appalling acts of violence I have seen in my career. We have to make an example of this and create environments where children will speak up and report bullying and where other team members will feel safe enough to report these vile, evil and senseless acts. When children feel safer keeping silent than going to adults for help when needed, we have failed miserably in our attempts to create a community where children can grow into healthy and productive citizens.
God help us all. We have to hold the coaches, school leadership and our School Board accountable.
Thank you, David, for this measured summary and your thoughtful questions. The brutal thugs who committed this rape don’t deserve the protection afforded by their youth, and I hope the justice system deals them a severe blow. As to the responsible adults, time will tell as the details evolve. Teenagers don’t (or shouldn’t) require constant supervision every minute. Adult accountability will depend on things such as how long the whole incident lasted, if the kids were left alone at the house and for how long, and whether or not any adults had reason to suspect any kind of attack could happen. I ache for the victim as his family.
Thank you David Carroll for this article. I agree with your questions that all applicable parties should address. The school and community should support the young man who was assaulted in any way possible. The 3 teens who did the assault should be prosecuted as adults. Send a message that doing such harm in NOT acceptable in way. I was disgusted to hear the team continued to play the basketball season as if nothing happened. ZERO hazing/bullying policy should be in effect. Do it and your kicked off the team and season cancelled. Then at least the other players and coaches may have spoken up regarding the bullying that was going on.
Thank you David Carroll for your truthful and fair report on this tragedy. This is sickening and evil. Now all the boys
involved are scarred for life! For what? May God have mercy on all our children and all of us hopefully try to be better examples. This frightens me for my grandchildren!
David, thank-you for the article. You, in deed, addressed the core issue. The answer to, “What has happened in our society, that children are allowed to grow up without learning the basics of acceptable human behavior?” can be answered. It cannot be discussed in a public forum however because the topic would necessarily involve speech that the media Nazis would label politically incorrect. Free speech does not really exist anymore. People lose livelihoods over the slightest politically incorrect stances as if they have no right to freedom of thought. The barrier between what is right and what is wrong has been removed, largely by the media that most parents deem acceptable for students. It is kind of like the emperor’s new clothes. Everyone acts like much of popular media is acceptable, or that it will not influence a teen even if it is unacceptable. WHEN WILL SOMEONE STAND UP AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MUCH OF WHAT STUDENTS VIEW AND LISTEN TO (and most parents) DOES NOT DISPLAY APPROPRIATE HUMAN BEHAVIOR FOR A FREE AND PEACEFUL SOCIETY AND WE SHOULD NOT PATRONIZE IT? Can we at least look at successful and unsuccessful civilizations over the centuries and learn from them about what is beneficial for a culture and what is not? We are already to the point in our nation where in order to congregate in groups, adults or children, we must have armed guards. Sometimes this is in the form of a School Resource Officer. This is to protect not only from intruders, but also for when protection is needed from our own, such as was the case with this horrific incident. Will it get to the point that we can no longer have children congregate for school? At the rate we are going, I would say that it could, but then that would require parents in mass to oversee their children during the day, and we all know that will not happen. Heaven help us.
David, What I want to know is if these 3 violators were even kids from the community of Ooltewah or were they at OHS for the sake of betterment of sports? This has always been an issue at OHS. Remember the 2007 beating of the Ridgeland kids by OHS football players ( not sharing names). There have been many more incidents swept under the rug all for the sake of sports. These kids are not even part of the Ooltewah community & as a parent of OHS graduates it sickens me to see that it remains the same & even gets worse as the years go by.
FWIW, chattanoogan.com poll:
http://www.chattanoogan.com/Polls.aspx
When my daughter was a student at Ooltewah around 2009, some of the Ooltewah football players (supposedly) attacked some cheerleaders from an opposing team and broke one of the girls’ jaws and put at least her in the hospital, yet none of the players were arrested, suspended or anything and were allowed to play in the game later that week. I can attest that sports are worshipped in that school! Nothing came before sports, certainly not academics! A girl I knew won an $8,000 scholarship to go to Japan for writing for a contest, yet it was never even acknowledged by the then-principal or even any of the teachers except the gifted teacher. However, when a football player got drafted to play for UT, he was named by the principal many times, got to lead the pledge several times, speak to students, etc. and was made a hero. For what? Playing a game. Might as well have been checkers. I was so glad to hear that principal was gone, but it would certainly appear this new one is not much better and will do anything to protect his sports teams and not the victims of assault. I hope all involved in this crime and what appears to be its cover-up are prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
David – Thank you. Finally, a reasoned, well thought out commentary asking all of the questions that I have had. Thank you for stating the facts as you know them and not jumping to conclusions. There are other questions, such as why was the coach’s wife a chaperone? This is a team of boys between the ages of 14-18. What was her purpose? Were all of the coaches located away from the boys? If, as reported and it stands to reason, that some boys heard the screaming and saw blood, what has been done to maybe get help for them? Or, do we have to wait until school starts before anything can be done? Why has the School Board, with the exception of Rhonda Thurman, been silent? My heart goes out to the young man and his family. My prayer is that not only his physical scars are healed but his any emotional ones as well.
This coach needs to be fired, it happened on his watch. The program needs to be shut down for at least one year. I would want the assailants tried as adults. And I want this kid to have the best lawyer in the land and sues for millions. I want the assailants sued for any future earnings. And if it turns out that hazing had been reported, anyone that knew should be fired.
Hannigan, I agree 100%. Either the TSSAA or Hamilton County Schools needs to lower the boom on Ooltewah. Unfortunately, we have school unions to deal with — and they look more after the best interests of their teachers than the students.
Terrible situation.
I hope the victim’s mother gets the most draconian attorney she can find and sues Hamilton County Schools for every dollar she can get.
How can you punish the other boys on that team for the actions of others? The three that attacked the other boy should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. Their actions were criminal and they need to be tried in court. As far as I know….the facts are not public as of this time. For as good as social media is…..it also feeds an element that can be both hurtful and devisive. While I normally am in agreement with Mrs. Thurman, this time I am not. She doesn’t know the facts yet either I would dare wager. Let us take a step back….wait for the officials to make their findings known and then act accordingly. I would be confident in saying that there are indeed young men on that Owl basketball team that were not involved and should not be punished. That is my only point.
It is so heartbreaking to me that our young people don’t seem to have feelings for anyone anymore. This is a heinous crime and I hope that the perpetrators get the harshest punishment available. I am also saddened to hear that a female student posted harmful comments. My prayers are with the young man who was harmed. May God protect him and provide him with healing from this atrocity.
I Would Also Like To Hear More On Charges Against The Criminals, I Do Believe That With The Vicious Nature Of This Attack, And The Age Of 16 & 17 You Can’t Tell Me These Thugs Are Children, They Could Not Think That This Was Acceptable, & Normal, This Was Something That Any Normal Person Knows Is Wrong Even At An Early Age, You Are Taught As Early As You Begin To Walk & Talk To BE Nice To Others. They Most Surely Will BE Charged As Adults. I Personally Hope They Are, And Would Like To Know, How They Are Looking Into This Case As Far As From The Legal Aspect & To The Punishment Being Sought.