Mom sues because son cut from basketball team

off the leash wrote:

Haven't studied the constitution since HS - can someone point out (if it is there) where it says that there is a right to education?

It is an interesting point. However, I can't see it going very far in civil court. It would set a precedent that would be impractical to hold up. And if it is the case that he is denied a basketball experience, then what about the people wanting to be on the swim team, but their school has no pool? Sue them? Who would they sue?

Usually these cases are based on the right to procedural due process (5th/14th Amendment). The government may not have to give you something, but if they do they can't take it away or deny it without some due process. What the process has to be depends on what they are taking away (obviously the standard will differ between, for instance, a death penalty case and being suspended from school).

If I recall correctly, the plaintiffs usually argue that the selection process was irrational (e.g. the basketball team's coach picked his son's friends rather than the best players). I don't recall how the head-cheerleader cases came out, but I think they all lost, and my guess would be that most similar cases are going to be losers, because 1) there is likely a very low standard for something like being on the basketball team, 2) the school's official selection process likely satisfies that low standard, and 3) proving that they don't follow that standard would be difficult - I mean, what are you going to do, have a Federal judge monitor school basketball tryouts?

What the fvck are you talking about? It's a high school, for fvck's sake. Do you expect it to have more than one team? If you're in favor of letting everyone on the team, go ahead and have five varsity teams to make everyone happy. In the meanwhile, there are plenty of basketball leagues where he can sign up and play without having to try out.

D of D wrote:

What the fvck are you talking about? It's a high school, for fvck's sake. Do you expect it to have more than one team? If you're in favor of letting everyone on the team, go ahead and have five varsity teams to make everyone happy. In the meanwhile, there are plenty of basketball leagues where he can sign up and play without having to try out.

Please explain why it is right for you to make me pay for your kid to play basketball. Why should the people who play not fund the team if it is an exclusive team?

Thanks; Ok, that's interesting. I can see that the fact that he was "on" the team for so long before being dropped would be a factor.

It would be wise for a school to have it's standards in writing and known to all trying out.

PeePPete wrote:

I'm not even going to click the link but let me guess shes black?

Why would you say that?

We have two different train of thoughts. You're complaining about having to pay for a public high school basketball team. I'm complaining about the whiny parent who wants his son to fully enjoy the experience of being on a high school basketball team when he's not good enough.

If you're against about having to fund the public high school basketball team, take it up with your local council.

Why would you say that?

A sense of entitlement. Could just be any liberal i guess but my original guess is most likely.

PeePPete wrote:

I'm not even going to click the link but let me guess shes black?

I would be very surprised if she were. Maumelle, Arkansas, is like 90+% white. And they have many white coaches:

Most of the teams have a mix of black and white kids; some don't:

If I had to bet, I'd bet this is a white woman, and that the kid who took her son's spot was black. BUT: Let's look at this from the other end. Her son made the team in August. He had two months, or more, in which to receive basketball coaching, hone his basketball skills, and grow. Yet he *still* (apparently) wasn't as good as the kids who were added from the football team.

Looks to me like he had every chance. Maybe next year, kid; you're only a freshman, right?

Bingo. (and an attorney too, second from left) http://tinyurl.com/bogb5r8

You know I think this lawsuit probably has no merit but I will tell you this, my son plays high school sports in the south and its crooked to the core.

My son starts but if you are in a rural area in the south and not from area, you had better be MUCH better then a local player whose family has prominence. There is a kid on the baseball team who is average at best. A very weak player, yet his daddy owns a real estate company and is loaded and this kid has played on all the travel teams and is on a team where 30 kids got cut. The funny thing is everyone knows it and accepts it.

The nice thing about my son playing football is that kid would get killed out there but baseball and soccer are run by the local rich families. I can see how someone could get pissed and sue. If you ask about it your answer is "you aint from round here are ya "

On the other hand wrote:

My son starts but if you are in a rural area in the south and not from area, you had better be MUCH better then a local player whose family has prominence.

If you are living in the rural south, your spot on the football team is the least of your worries. For example, your parents clearly hate you if they have decided to raise you in the rural south.

NYCer wrote:

On the other hand wrote:

My son starts but if you are in a rural area in the south and not from area, you had better be MUCH better then a local player whose family has prominence.

If you are living in the rural south, your spot on the football team is the least of your worries. For example, your parents clearly hate you if they have decided to raise you in the rural south.

Clearly yours didn't teach you not to be a bigot.

The sea yields to knowledge wrote:

Clearly yours didn't teach you not to be a bigot.

Realizing that rural life is a horrid experience does not make one a bigot. Choosing rural Georgia over the Upper West Side or Battery Park City simply isn't in the best interest of your kid. You could allow them to live in a place where they can have an interesting life and where they'll meet all kinds of people, but instead you keep them parked in the middle of nowhere so they can sit and let their brain rot from lack of stimulation.

Armando wrote:

Wasn't Michael Jordan cut as a freshman in HS?

He was cut from the varsity squad, which resulted in valuable playing time on the junior varsity team. There was a fairly recent Sports Illustrated article about the coach who made that decision. He is forever labeled as 'the guy who cut Jordan', but in hindsight it may have been the best thing ever because of all the court time he got.

NYCer wrote:

The sea yields to knowledge wrote:

Clearly yours didn't teach you not to be a bigot.

Realizing that rural life is a horrid experience does not make one a bigot. Choosing rural Georgia over the Upper West Side or Battery Park City simply isn't in the best interest of your kid. You could allow them to live in a place where they can have an interesting life and where they'll meet all kinds of people, but instead you keep them parked in the middle of nowhere so they can sit and let their brain rot from lack of stimulation.

There are only certain places where people can park their trailers/houses.

Peeple R Dum wrote:

So if she wins, does the judge get to decide if the kid starts? Do you have a constitutional right to play a certain number of minutes or only to be a bench warmer? Is equipment manager good enough to satisfy the United States Constitution.

Does the kid with 2 left feet who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket have a constitutional right to be 1st chair trumpet in the marching band?

I am suing you for a poorly mixed example.

It would be a horrid experience for you indeed. Certainly glad you are not in my neighborhood.

NYCer wrote:

The sea yields to knowledge wrote:

Clearly yours didn't teach you not to be a bigot.

Realizing that rural life is a horrid experience does not make one a bigot. Choosing rural Georgia over the Upper West Side or Battery Park City simply isn't in the best interest of your kid. You could allow them to live in a place where they can have an interesting life and where they'll meet all kinds of people, but instead you keep them parked in the middle of nowhere so they can sit and let their brain rot from lack of stimulation.

I would think that living in such a large and diverse city as New York would have taught you that different people like and value different things.

The sea yields to knowledge wrote:

I would think that living in such a large and diverse city as New York would have taught you that different people like and value different things.

I don't really see your point.