2014 commit: ATH Blake Dennis

[legendofzippy]

Isn't the poem basically saying what this thread has been saying all along? This kid isn't very good, and everyone knew something was fishy. Please tell me we get to pull the offer now - we can't waste any scholarships.

As far as dad's playing their kids, this happens a lot and I think it's great the player stood up and said something. The main reason Big Ben wound up at Miami is because of nepotism, and not getting to play until his senior year. It happened at my school too with QB's. It's the Akron scholarship part that bugs me though - I don't care who your dad is, you better not be getting an offer without legitimate talent.

[mbb21]

I agree with the Principle. Free speech is one thing, but making slanderous accusations against the coach and his fellow team mate is out of line. Avery Friedman has been on the wrong side of these cases more than once.

Slanderous would be the wrong word. Truthful is more like it. It is very well know to anyone who follows Wayne County football what is going on in Rittman.

There was an article in The Daily Record today about this. Here's a quote from the article:

"They can slap me and print bad things, but the memories we'll have the rest of our lives will mean more than any championship you could ever win."

This guy was on his way out and all he talked about in the article was him and his son. Nothing about the team.

This family is on an ego trip and Bill Dennis created the situation they are in.

[Captain Kangaroo]

One thing that is getting lost in all of this is the assignment. I think it was a great assignment from the teacher. The poem itself, if you want to call it that, was below average. I'll give it a D. The only thing saving it from being an F is the kid actually turned in something.

Great point. The kid is certainly no Robert Frost.

[Zipmeister]

Great point. The kid is certainly no Robert Frost.

Certainly no Frost, but he reminds me a little of Yeezy.

[Hilltopper]

Slanderous would be the wrong word. Truthful is more like it. It is very well know to anyone who follows Wayne County football what is going on in Rittman.

There was an article in The Daily Record today about this. Here's a quote from the article:

"They can slap me and print bad things, but the memories we'll have the rest of our lives will mean more than any championship you could ever win."

This guy was on his way out and all he talked about in the article was him and his son. Nothing about the team.

This family is on an ego trip and Bill Dennis created the situation they are in.

There are always two sides to every story and the truth is usually somewhere in the middle.

[Dave in Green]

The teacher should have made it clear to the students that the assignment was not an open invitation to publicly insult HS staff or fellow students.

[GP1]

The teacher should have made it clear to the students that the assignment was not an open invitation to publicly insult HS staff or fellow students.

Why was the student required to read the "poem" aloud then?

[Hilltopper]

Why was the student required to read the "poem" aloud then?

I would imagine the teacher hadn't vetted the content of the poem before it was recited in class.

Here's what the US Supreme court says about student speech as it relates to the first amendment.

Tinker v. Des Moines Independent School District (1969)Issue: Freedom of Speech at SchoolBottom Line: You Have the Right To Express Yourself—Up to a Point

The Court did not, however, grant students an unlimited right to self-expression. It said First Amendment guarantees must be balanced against a school's need to keep order: As long as an act of expression doesn't disrupt classwork or school activities or invade the rights of others, it's acceptable. Regarding the students in this case, "their deviation consisted only in wearing on their sleeve a band of black cloth," the Court said. "They caused discussion outside of the classrooms, but no interference with work and no disorder."

Calling out the Head coach and a fellow player is going to cause some disorder.

[GP1]

Calling out the Head coach and a fellow player is going to cause some disorder.

So would an overreaction by the administration to this bad poem. A four day suspension would be proper for a poem this bad would be understandable...probably more. The problem was the overreaction by the school's administration. The only people who should feel offended by this "poem" are those who had to read it; and more so, people who are able to write poetry for living.

If the dean of students would have just brought this bad poet in and had a "don't be a dick" conversation with him, we wouldn't be talking about this today.

[Hilltopper]

The problem was the overreaction by the school's administration.

No argument from me about that. A letter of apology and maybe an in school suspension would seem appropriate. But the idea that the kid can just say whatever he wants is wrong.

[GP1]

A letter of apology and maybe an in school suspension would seem appropriate. But the idea that the kid can just say whatever he wants is wrong.

What if he isn't sorry? I would suggest having the "don't be a dick" conversation and a couple of laps around the track after practice...the administrators who though it would be a good idea to suspend him could join him on the run.

I'm 44 and I grew up in a nice small town with a good mid sized high school full of mostly kids from working class families. Nonsense like this story would have never happened because the administrators weren't so stupid and problems were handled by actually educating kids about behaving better. This kid gets a four day suspension for writing an "offensive" bad poem? Good grief...when I was growing up, the most you could get for getting into a fight on school grounds was a three day suspension. You could take three cracks from the paddle for every one day of suspension. Or, you could take 10 days of detention for every one day of suspension. The punishment was up to the student and there were choices. This "poem" wouldn't even have been detention worthy.

[Hilltopper]

What if he isn't sorry? I would suggest having the "don't be a dick" conversation and a couple of laps around the track after practice...the administrators who though it would be a good idea to suspend him could join him on the run.

I'm 44 and I grew up in a nice small town with a good mid sized high school full of mostly kids from working class families. Nonsense like this story would have never happened because the administrators weren't so stupid and problems were handled by actually educating kids about behaving better. This kid gets a four day suspension for writing an "offensive" bad poem? Good grief...when I was growing up, the most you could get for getting into a fight on school grounds was a three day suspension. You could take three cracks from the paddle for every one day of suspension. Or, you could take 10 days of detention for every one day of suspension. The punishment was up to the student and there were choices. This "poem" wouldn't even have been detention worthy.

When I was in highschool an incident like this would have been handled by a meeting with a piece of wood that had nicknames like "The Enforcer" written on it and notches in it from the number of times it was used. Out in the hallway where everyone could hear the effects.