04/23/24
August 17, 2006
It's never too arly to teach them...: that athletes are above the law. The mother is probably right. These kids will be in the news again if they make college ball.
posted by texoma-slim to culture at 07:34 PM - 33 comments
It doesn't sound like these two are the typical pampered athletes, but they sure don't have a lot of common sense. The so-called experts claim that good judgement is the last thing to develop in the brain. That being the case, they should not be allowed to complete the season before doing their punishment. If their coach has any integrity at all, he would suspend them for the season. Of course, the local boosters club would probably run him out of town, and there's the problem. When a community is willing to implement a double standard, everyone suffers. The priviledged become arrogant, the rest of us become resentful, and those who want to do the right thing get laughed at (or worse). Punish and praise evenly, and let the law rule.
posted by Howard_T at 08:22 PM on August 17, 2006
Aren't sports a great way to bring up our young people? Give athletes a pat on the rear end no matter how horrendous the crime. If I were the parents of those innocent victims these douche bags would not have a day's peace for the rest of their lives. All you bleeding hearts would be singing a different tune if your children were the victims.
posted by joromu at 09:04 PM on August 17, 2006
Where are all these bleeding hearts to whom you refer? I see two comments before yours both saying that the punishment doesn't fit the crime and that the kids shouldn't have been given a special break. I will add that I would be stunned if anyone at Sportsfilter stands up and says "yeah, they should get special treatment." I certainly think they should have gone directly to jail.
posted by Joey Michaels at 09:07 PM on August 17, 2006
They should have been tried as adults and had their asses hauled out of the court room in cuffs. They have just been told a winning season is more important then social resonsibility. I do not for one moment believe this was just some kind of childhood prank gone wrong. This was a pre-meditated plan to create a dangerous situation and see how people would react, and they did it just to amuse themselves. I have to wonder what this bonehead judge would have done if the kids involved had not been on the football team. If he really wanted to punish these two little shits, they should not be allowed to play footbal til they turn twenty one.
posted by CB900 at 10:54 PM on August 17, 2006
I am not sure if this is even athlete-related special treatment. Judges do stuff like this all the time, even when athletes aren't involved at all. There isn't even any mention in the story that the team is any good. Mountain out of a molehill.
posted by bperk at 10:59 PM on August 17, 2006
Because of the serious nature of the injuries sustained by the victims in this case, and the recklessness and senselessness demonstrated by these juvenile offenders, perhaps the most effective sentence of all would require these boys to report to the detention facility each football game night the entire season, effectively eliminating their game night participation. This would send a strong message that this dangerous nonsense would not be tolerated and that injurious acts perpetrated upon victims will result in loss of enjoyment of life for the criminals who caused pain and suffering to the innocent.
posted by judgedread at 11:02 PM on August 17, 2006
C'mon, you remember when you were in school, the jocks can do no wrong. It is not right, but it has been that way since the '60s. Grades didn't matter, pranks were expected, & you were supposed to be a jerk. All the while the princple and school board beemed about how good their team was.
posted by Psycho at 11:07 PM on August 17, 2006
Man, we are due for some good news regarding athletes... but yeah, I agree with CB900 & judgedread, this was a 'prank' seriously gone wrong, and an example should be made of these hoodlums...if ya can't do the time, don't do the crime.
posted by mjkredliner at 11:12 PM on August 17, 2006
I wonder what will happen if these two jerks get season ending injuries? Will punishment be delayed until they are healed? If I were an opposing coach, I'd get my hardest hitters and tell them to go get 'em! And people wonder why the Claretts, Strawberrys, Goodens, etc. are so arrogant and always in trouble!
posted by Mike Juran at 11:15 PM on August 17, 2006
Psycho brings up the unfortunate reality that the judge would be under considerable pressure in many communities to let the boys play (especially if they were talented athletes that significantly helped the team in a high profile sport like football.) But this fake deer in the street thing was no prank.In states like mine, deer/ vehicle accidents are a deadly problem, and any astute driver will take evasive action when they see a buck or doe on the roadway. These idiots KNEW that motorists would panic when they saw their "deer" in the road: what other kind of result were they expecting? Locking up their brakes? Crashing into a tree just off the roadway? These pranksters have no regard for how vehicles are dangerous instrumentalities, and because their malicious game ACTUALLY CAUSED PEOPLE TO SUSTAIN SERIOUS INJURIES theirs are cases where equally serious sanctions should be imposed. This long-standing "jocks do no wrong'" crap needs to stop. To defer their time until after football season is an insult to the victims (who are undoubtedly hurting now) and a very unhealthy message to every other potential dumbass.
posted by judgedread at 11:46 PM on August 17, 2006
Mountain out of a molehill. I'd love to see you tell that the Roby and Zachariah families. I'm sure they'd love to hear how Robert's broken neck and Dustin's brain damage are being blown out of proportion. Then, the whole lot of you can take in a football game, where you can cheer on the guys responsible for those injuries.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:33 AM on August 18, 2006
Who is going to suspend the consequences of the injuries the two kids suffered from the wreck? I guess they didn't play Football so it's not important. If the athletes were my kids they wouldn't have to worry about the judge ending their football season, it would have already been ended along with alot of other things. bperk, your post makes no sense. I am not sure if this is even athlete-related special treatment. I think suspending a sentence until the end of FOOTBALL SEASON could have something to do with athletes. Judges do stuff like this all the time, even when athletes aren't involved at all. Judges do stuff like what all the time? Suspend sentences till the end of FOOTBALL SEASON when athletes are not involved? I guess so that everyone can attend the games.
posted by Familyman at 05:44 AM on August 18, 2006
I'd love to see you tell that the Roby and Zachariah families. Well, if you want to call it a mountain, it's a mountain in the middle of a mssif of similar mountains, only a minority of which have anything to do with sports. And I must say that this thread sounds like a transcript of a typical ranters-and-ravers call-in sports talk radio show. We're just getting under way, folks, let's pick up the pace! Let's see who can suggest the most creatively gruesome punishment for the young criminals, and top it off with a generous dash of meaningless "If I were that judge/the coach/their parents/the other kids' parents" talk-the-talk.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:56 AM on August 18, 2006
I just think it sounds like a gutless judge that probably makes a lot of ridiculous decisions. Using his same sort of logic, if an adult is accused of a similar crime, they should have any penalties/fines waived because they would put the families of the accused in severe hardship. But isn't that the reason why most sane individuals choose not to pull stupid stunts in the first place? And it's not like the young guys injured sustained a few bumps and bruises. The injuries were pretty substantial. Just a bad situation all around.
posted by dyams at 08:16 AM on August 18, 2006
Also, Kenton High School looks like it's a pretty good football school, having won two state titles in the past five years (Ohio, Div. IV). Plus, the one kid being a quarterback is probably crucial to the Kenton team. The coaches son, Ben Mauk, is currently at Wake Forest. He set national records with 6,540 passing yards and 76 touchdowns through the air his senior season and called all the plays, playing a no-back, five-wide, no-huddle offense, leading Kenton to back-to-back state championships. He was Ohio's 2002 Mr. Football and Gatorade's 2002 state of Ohio football Player of the Year. I only write this to point out there seems to be a fairly rich tradition in football at this school, and I'm sure the judge didn't want to be run out of town.
posted by dyams at 08:49 AM on August 18, 2006
Yep, Dyams, that sure does make it smell like there is a definite conflict of interest, I wonder if the judge should not have recused himself from this case?
posted by mjkredliner at 09:30 AM on August 18, 2006
"I don't want a trial now. Suppose I lose? I get jail, I miss the game." "Connor, trust me. They're not gonna lock up our leading scorer." ................................... "What say you, Karen?" "The State of Alaska versus Connor Banks. Second-degree assault. We find the defendant not guilty." "Look around. Look at yourselves. You have exalted this game above what is right, but you have your star center back. The defendant is free to go. You have embarrassed my courtroom."
posted by MrFrisby at 09:35 AM on August 18, 2006
Lets see, if I were the judge I would punish those pranksters by never letting them play football again, putting them on probation, and cut off their right ears just for kicks.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 09:52 AM on August 18, 2006
l_b_b, I hope I'm not misunderstanding you here...one person got his neck broken, the other has brain damage, and the two kids responsible get a 60-day jail sentence...after the football game? I'm not saying they should get the chair or anything, but damn. Two people may be crippled for the rest of their life, and these two shitheads get to play in their game, then lose two whole months of their lives before they get on with the rest of their high school/college career? I'm hardly a graduate from the Hairshirt School of Punishment, but I think there's gotta be a little more accountability, at least in this case.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 10:16 AM on August 18, 2006
l_b_b, I hope I'm not misunderstanding you here I can't tell if you're misunderstanding me, because I can't figure out just what part of what you said is attributed to me. Can you maybe try that one again?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 10:29 AM on August 18, 2006
Let's see who can suggest the most creatively gruesome punishment for the young criminals, Road trip with Lonny Baxter? Houseboy at Sigfried and Roy's ("Iz time to clean ze tiger cage my young tight buttocked houzboyz!")? Tour of duty in Iraq? Tour of duty in Iraq with Carl Everett? Hunting deer with Cheney?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:06 AM on August 18, 2006
Did pirates write the FPP headline?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 11:14 AM on August 18, 2006
I'd love to see you tell that the Roby and Zachariah families. I'm sure they'd love to hear how Robert's broken neck and Dustin's brain damage are being blown out of proportion. Absent the hysteria, you probably know that that isn't what I said. The mountain out of the molehill was making a big deal about delaying the sentence for any length of time, which is a common occurrence in sentencing. Juvenile court judges do it even more often, letting kids finish their semester or projects or whatever. I have no idea what a normal sentence is for vehicular vandalism in juvenile court, and I suspect neither does anyone posting here, so all the histrionics seem misplaced. I don't think athletes should get special treatment, but I don't think they need harsher standards than any other juvenile offender.
posted by bperk at 12:24 PM on August 18, 2006
"I think every day that I hurt someone, and that hurts me inside." Don't you get it, he hurts in only a way that football can cure. If he was a fashionista would you deny him the chance to see the new fall styles? No way. Healing can only take place when hobbies take precedent over punishment. Seriously though, if the sentence was going to be delayed, I think most people would have been more comfortable if the reason given was to finish the schoolyear as opposed to the football season as bperk suggests.
posted by gradys_kitchen at 12:56 PM on August 18, 2006
Let us teach them SPELLING as "arly" as possible.
posted by Bruninho at 01:07 PM on August 18, 2006
bperk, I personally don't feel they should be judged harsher because they are athletes, but this is not even close to being harsh enough. As far as if this is about athletes, the judge did that. But by the grace of God these to morons didn't kill someone. The long list of shit they could have been charged with could have put them behind bars for alot longer then sixty days.
posted by CB900 at 01:26 PM on August 18, 2006
Hunting deer with Cheney? As long as it is this deer they are hunting.
posted by MrFrisby at 01:36 PM on August 18, 2006
bperk: Absent the hysteria, you probably know that that isn't what I said. The mountain out of the molehill was making a big deal about delaying the sentence for any length of time, which is a common occurrence in sentencing. Juvenile court judges do it even more often, letting kids finish their semester or projects or whatever. Right. Hence my comment that if it's a mountain, it's a mountain amongst other mountains of similar scale. I have no idea what a normal sentence is for vehicular vandalism in juvenile court, and I suspect neither does anyone posting here, so all the histrionics seem misplaced. Concur. Bruninho: Let us teach them SPELLING as "arly" as possible. While you're at it, teach them that there is no such word as "alot".
posted by lil_brown_bat at 01:48 PM on August 18, 2006
The judge should have his neck broken along with the brain damaged voters that elected him.
posted by rollfastbyu at 03:08 PM on August 18, 2006
The judge should have his neck broken along with the brain damaged voters that elected him. Can I call 'em or what?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 03:47 PM on August 18, 2006
Like it or not, it's true that delayed imposition of sentences is very commonplace, sometimes with good reason. Making sure that these two idiots get their chance to play isn't a good reason, but the arguement can be made that preventing them from playing will have a detrimental effect on the futures of many of their teammates (teams that disappoint don't get scouted like those that meet and exceed expectations and, unfortunately, a large number of these kids will probably be depending on scholarship money to make it to college). I'm more upset about the length of the sentence than about the delay. Sixty days? Wow, that seems ridiculously light. I'd sure like to see something more severe than that. Either give a considerably longer sentence, or make them agree to play no college sports as a condition of their plea agreement. This only works if they're likely to be scholarship level athletes, which sounds likely with these two. It takes away any athletic scholarship consideration, and any dreams they may ever have harbored of turning pro. It would change their lives forever, but it wouldn't hurt their teammates.
posted by ctal1999 at 12:29 PM on August 19, 2006
Campbell (the team's starting QB) was 1st team All-District and 2nd team All-State. Howard (the team's starting Safety) was Honorable mention All-District. According to CBS Sports. The school was State Champions in 2001 and 2002 and regularly draw 4000 fans in a town of 8000. One wonders what their "sentence" would have been if they weren't hometown heroes? My bet is they'll both be starting for Ohio State.
posted by commander cody at 06:50 PM on August 19, 2006
Wow, 500 words. I bet they can write at least four or five of them on their own.