Cheerleader Fined $45,000 For Refusing To Cheer Her Rapist

[Kestrel]

Predicted response: "rape is different than bullying".
Yes, but the point is if your conscience won't let you perform your role in your voluntary extracurricular activity, then go home! You're allowed! Nobody is forcing you to be there! You don't have the privelege to refuse to fulfill your role AND stay in your role. If you just can't bring yourself to do it, then choose to leave the activity.

Apparently this school finds no moral problem with allowing convicted assaulters on athletic teams. But they do have a problem with students objecting to that policy.

 

[BobTheCoward]

For those who do not agree with the outcome of this case, what should the legal remedy have been?

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

For those who do not agree with the outcome of this case, what should the legal remedy have been?

The legal remedy for who?

 

[BobTheCoward]

The legal remedy for who?

For both parties. What should a court have ruled, at what level, and what precedents, if any, should have been set?

 

[The Central Scrutinizer]

For both parties. What should a court have ruled, at what level, and what precedents, if any, should have been set?

I think the courts ruled correctly on all counts, except the rape/assault, on which I have no comment, because I don't know the facts of the case.

 

[Dave Rogers]

For those who do not agree with the outcome of this case, what should the legal remedy have been?

Moderate damages awarded against the school would strike me as reasonable. She was dismissed from a position of status for refusing to cheer someone who had committed, and been found guilty of, an assault against her.

On a more informal level, a metaphorical smack round the head for the coach of the cheerleading squad who somehow failed to notice that there might be a problem here and deal with it in advance. This is a school, and they have responsibilities to their pupils. Allowing a situation to occur where a child is required to cheer for someone who's assaulted her is short-sighted and stupid.

Dave

 

[Travis]

In Texas being a cheerleader is a really big deal. I don't even think they consider you female unless you've been a cheerleader.

 

[JamesDillon]

You're failing to read both the original story and my post. No one forced her to do anything. Her parents choose to sue. They lost. They appealed. They lost. They appealed to the Supreme Court. They lost. That much legal fighting has costs. Its right for the parents to pay for it.

Michaelsuedes topic "Cheerleader Fined $45,000 for refusing to cheer" is completely false. Her parents were fined for losing court case after court case. Not because of the girls action. But because of their actions.

This sums it up. Regardless of the truth of the rape claims, and regardless of the school's wisdom in demanding that she cheer for the alleged rapist, her claim that she has a First Amendment right not to cheer while remaining on the cheerleading squad is legally frivolous, and the court was right to shift the costs of defending those frivolous claims away from the local taxpayers.*

In anticipatory response to anyone inclined to make an argument about how unreasonable the school was being here, that's irrelevant. Yes, it could, and in my view should, have simply overlooked her behavior under the circumstances and let her sit down or stand on the sidelines silently while the rest of the squad cheered. But it had no legal obligation to do so.

* The underlined portion is the key here. Of course she has a First Amendment right not to cheer for the guy-- she can quit the squad and no one could force her to do otherwise. What she's really claiming is a right to refuse to do her job without any consequence.

 

[Jekyll's Guest]

They must have had a hell of a ironclad rape case against the guy in order to accept a misdemeanor assault plea from him.

So basically the prosecutor found no credible evidence of rape and settled for a slap on the wrist.

I guess "Cheerleader's family charged $45,000 legal fees for insisting she should be allowed to cheer everyone except a guy who misdemeanor assaulted her" doesn't have quite the sizzle to it.

 

[Jekyll's Guest]

In Texas being a cheerleader is a really big deal. I don't even think they consider you female unless you've been a cheerleader.

Ladies, I am in Texas and can provide free inspection and certification on request.

 

[Aepervius]

They must have had a hell of a ironclad rape case against the guy in order to accept a misdemeanor assault plea from him.

So basically the prosecutor found no credible evidence of rape and settled for a slap on the wrist.

I guess "Cheerleader's family charged $45,000 legal fees for insisting she should be allowed to cheer everyone except a guy who misdemeanor assaulted her" doesn't have quite the sizzle to it.

There are form of sexual asssault which leave not many, to no evidence. In such a case you are left with she said-he said. I guess here that the accused could not deny the assault (due to wounds for example or witness) but the sexual aprt could not easily proved.

Just guessing natrually.

 

[Seismosaurus]

When you accept a position you are choosing to do the job. If you change your mind and decide that you won't do the job, then you need to quit.

You can't reasonably expect to keep the job but not actually do it and expect everyone to be okay with that.

 

[Jekyll's Guest]

There are form of sexual asssault which leave not many, to no evidence. In such a case you are left with she said-he said.

And while I'm truly sorry for the poor women who are raped and the scumbag gets away with it, I am truly happy that mere allegation of rape isn't enough to get a man sent to prison.

Marked for life and shredded in the public domain obviously, but at least you have a good chance of not going to jail.

 

[Safe-Keeper]

On a more informal level, a metaphorical smack round the head for the coach of the cheerleading squad who somehow failed to notice that there might be a problem here and deal with it in advance. This is a school, and they have responsibilities to their pupils. Allowing a situation to occur where a child is required to cheer for someone who's assaulted her is short-sighted and stupid.

You've never been to Texas. The Lone Star State's philosophy is that if you break a rule, you should be punished, preferrably severely, regardlessly of how severe the violation or what possible underlying reasons there may have been.

 

[rwguinn]

You've never been to Texas. The Lone Star State's philosophy is that if you break a rule, you should be punished, preferrably severely, regardlessly of how severe the violation or what possible underlying reasons there may have been.

Said the bachelor marriage counselor...

 

[michaelsuede]

Predicted response: "rape is different than bullying".
Yes, but the point is if your conscience won't let you perform your role in your voluntary extracurricular activity, then go home! You're allowed! Nobody is forcing you to be there! You don't have the privelege to refuse to fulfill your role AND stay in your role. If you just can't bring yourself to do it, then choose to leave the activity.

I would argue that under normal circumstances (like a private school), the basketball player would be the one who is removed in order to accommodate the cheerleader - not vice versa.

I highly doubt a private school would even allow such a rapist to remain on their property. They have paying customers they need to worry about offending.

 

[Dave Rogers]

When you accept a position you are choosing to do the job. If you change your mind and decide that you won't do the job, then you need to quit.

You can't reasonably expect to keep the job but not actually do it and expect everyone to be okay with that.

But, of course, in the real world it's not that simple. If you're assaulted by a co-worker, and you're then required as a continuing condition of the job to act in a supportive role to that co-worker, with no account being taken by your employer of the fact that the co-worker was found guilty of that assault, then there's a very plausible case for a constructive dismissal suit.

Dave

 

[TragicMonkey]

I highly doubt a private school would even allow such a rapist to remain on their property. They have paying customers they need to worry about offending.

I would say that in some private schools, whichever student had the wealthier parents would be the one to stay, and the other would be removed.

Market forces are not always benevolent.

 

[Dave Rogers]

You've never been to Texas. The Lone Star State's philosophy is that if you break a rule, you should be punished, preferrably severely, regardlessly of how severe the violation or what possible underlying reasons there may have been.

So how severely was the player punished for breaking the rule that you shouldn't assault teenage girls?

Dave

 

[michaelsuede]

I would say that in some private schools, whichever student had the wealthier parents would be the one to stay, and the other would be removed.

Market forces are not always benevolent.

I would say that is ridiculous, because everyone pays the same price.

A kid from a million dollar family pays the same tuition as a kid from a 100,000 dollar family.

Thus, all that matters to the school is that parents don't yank their kids out because the school decided to keep a rapist around.

In a public school, no such market forces exist - hence, why this rapist is given a pass while the cheerleader is kicked off the squad and forced to pay retribution money.