Wednesday, September 30, 2008
Update:
From: Statement from Superintendent Randy Shearouse, Effingham County Schools RE: SEHS Football Player Incident
The incident last week that involved several members of the South Effingham High School football team is very disturbing and I certainly understand the different concerns being expressed by parents, students and the community.
Although the incident occurred off campus, the football players were gathered as a team and were therefore representing their team and their school. Had this video been filmed on campus during the school day, these students could have faced suspension from school as well as various criminal charges. Because it occurred off campus as part of an unsupervised team activity, I have agreed to let the school handle this incident as an athletic team infraction.
At this point, school board members have not been involved. Instead, Coach Manior and Principal Noel have met with each of the 13 football players involved and their parents.
A joint decision has been made to discipline the students as follows: each player involved will be required to write a letter to the ECHS football team apologizing for their behavior; eight players will be suspended from participating in one to three games, based on their level of involvement; and all 13 players will be required to perform community service which will consist of cleaning both the ECHS and SEHS football stadiums following the next three home games at SEHS and the next two home games at ECHS (this will be done on Saturday mornings under the supervision of an adult).
Like their coach and principal, I am very disappointed in these football players’ behavior and I believe they should be held accountable for how they’ve represented their team.
In addition, I want all our students to understand the importance of respecting each other as individuals and to remember that a cross-town rivalry can be competitive and fun at the same time. Most of them will not remember ten years from now who won or lost a football game, but their lives may be permanently affected by how they chose to behave before, during or after that game.
From what I have been told, all of the South Effingham players involved have expressed remorse for what they did and I believe they will end up learning a valuable lesson from this experience.
Tuesday, September 29, 2008
EFFINGHAM COUNTY—A You Tube scandal rocks South Effingham High School football team. The video claimed more than 400 hits on the popular website. Ten members of the team were rapping and using profanity, making threats to their rival team, the Effingham High Rebels.
Residents and parents have mixed feelings about how the school should handle the players involved in the scandal.
“Whoever was in the video should be punished, they shouldn't have been able to play in the game if they were one the football players,” said Effingham High ’07 Alumnus April Jones.
Not everyone agreed with Jones as the video was shot at an off campus location.
“Isn't it freedom of speech you can say whatever? I don't think we have any right to tell them what they can or can not do on their own time,” said South Effingham High School parent, Becky Lively.
Live continued, “This might be a discipline issue, but they (the school officials) were seriously talking about kicking them off the team and everything.”
“They definitely need to be taught right from wrong but whether or not they should play the game I don't know,” said South Effingham Resident Sherry Hughes.
The school declined an interview. They said they were still talking to parents and trying to find a suitable punishment.
Watch You Tube video:
Copyright 2008 by WJCL 22 / ABC and WTGS / FOX28, The Coastal Source
| 
