Apparantly basketball is more important than rapists getting punished.

joe stodge · 06-01-2012 4:16pm #1

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

seriously WTF!!

Wednesday 04 May 2011

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.

06-01-2012 4:19pm

Wasn't this case brought up about 6-8 months ago?

Fromthetrees · 06-01-2012 4:19pm

I'm too ugly to be sexually assaulted.

amacachi · 06-01-2012 4:19pm

She's paying for the legal fees for the stupid legal case her (or probably her parents) brought against the school etc.

Sykk · 06-01-2012 4:20pm

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.

Four months later, in January 2009, HS travelled to one of Silsbee High School's basketball games in Huntsville. She joined in with the business of leading cheers throughout the match. But when Bolton was about to take a free throw, the girl decided to stand silently with her arms folded.

"I didn't want to have to say his name and I didn't want to cheer for him," she later told reporters. "I just didn't want to encourage anything he was doing."

Richard Bain, the school superintendent in the sport-obsessed small town, saw things differently. He told HS to leave the gymnasium. Outside, he told her she was required to cheer for Bolton. When the girl said she was unwilling to endorse a man who had sexually assaulted her, she was expelled from the cheerleading squad.

The subsequent legal challenge against Mr Bain's decision perhaps highlights the seriousness with which Texans take cheerleading and high school sports, which can attract crowds in the tens of thousands.

HS and her parents instructed lawyers to pursue a compensation claim against the principal and the School District in early 2009. Their lawsuit argued that HS's right to exercise free expression had been violated when she was instructed to applaud her attacker. But two separate courts ruled against her, deciding that a cheerleader freely agrees to act as a "mouthpiece" for a institution and therefore surrenders her constitutional right to free speech. 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.

"As a cheerleader, HS served as a mouthpiece through which [the school district] could disseminate speech – namely, support for its athletic teams," the appeals court decision says. "This act constituted substantial interference with the work of the school because, as a cheerleader, HS was at the basketball game for the purpose of cheering, a position she undertook voluntarily."

The family's lawyer said the ruling meanst that students exercising their right of free speech can end up punished for refusing to follow "insensitive and unreasonable directions".

Was that so hard?

later12 · 06-01-2012 4:23pm

I'm having trouble finding the part where the basketball player in question was found guilty of rape.

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.

Doesn't make him a gentleman, but it doesn't make him a rapist either.

It's not clear what exactly the compensation was for (it sounds like legal fees since so counterclaim is mentioned), or whether it would have been awarded if the girl in question had not taken the issue to court herself.

biko · 06-01-2012 4:23pm

Unless there is some update to the case I don't see why you bring news from May up now?

WoollyRedHat · 06-01-2012 4:25pm

That can't be actually true?

44leto · 06-01-2012 4:30pm

Apparantly basketball is more important than rapists getting punished.

Seriously WTF

So she refused to chant the name of a person who she ALLEGED sexually assaulted her. If he did sexually assault her why wasn't he convicted. It not beyond the possibility the girl was lying.

Read past the sensational headlines.

hondasam · 06-01-2012 4:33pm

Four months later, in January 2009, HS travelled to one of Silsbee High School's basketball games in Huntsville. She joined in with the business of leading cheers throughout the match. But when Bolton was about to take a free throw, the girl decided to stand silently with her arms folded

.

"I didn't want to have to say his name and I didn't want to cheer for him," she later told reporters. "I just didn't want to encourage anything he was doing."

Why the hell is she a cheerleader knowing he is a player on the team.

Ray Palmer · 06-01-2012 5:08pm

Shouldn't it be if you join a cheerleading squad know who you have to cheer as part of your duties?

The parents should have known better

06-01-2012 5:13pm

44leto wrote: »

Seriously WTF

So she refused to chant the name of a person who she ALLEGED sexually assaulted her. If he did sexually assault her why wasn't he convicted. It not beyond the possibility the girl was lying.

Read past the sensational headlines.

He plead guilty..

later12 · 06-01-2012 5:16pm

Deleted User wrote: »

He plead guilty..

He pleaded guilty to an assault misdemeanour, I'm not quite sure it was sexual, since there was mention of anger management classes.

(Not that this means the girl was wrong to behave the way she did)

later12 · 06-01-2012 5:21pm

By the way, I'm not sure why there is a mugshot of the man who this woman alleges raped her, and not of this woman herself; US courts have not found that any rape actually occurred, and have recently found against this woman in her civil suit against the school.

Surely her picture deserves the headline, since the man in question had nothing to do with the case, he isn't even one of the parties in this case.

Although he is black. I'm sure that's damning enough for some people.

maglite · 06-01-2012 5:25pm

Sounds like a little brat, I assume if he did rape her the charges would not have been dropped and he would't have been charged with a misdemeanor (about as serious as not paying a traffic ticket).

She should be done for deformation too.