*A video filled with vulgarities featuring nine members of a Florida high school basketball team has resulted in them being suspended and sitting out the rest of the season.
According to Wink News, the Lehigh Senior High School basketball players were showed freestyling explicit and sexually suggestive lyrics in the clip, which turned up online. Although the boys were originally suspended for two days, three more days were added to bring total time of the punishment to five days. In addition the players are banned from playing for the rest of the year.
The suspension came as Lehigh Senior High (in the Ft. Meyers, Florida area) played in the district semi-final game on Wednesday. That same day, parents and community members planned on protesting the boys’ suspension outside the Lee County School District headquarters.
“They don’t get in trouble outside of school nor do they get in trouble inside of school and this one incident come and you just take it overboard,” Desiree McDonald, a mother of two of the suspended boys told Wink News. “They made a mistake as a child. They’re not adults. And yes they do have to learn from their mistakes but I feel like they’ve learned from the mistake that they made and I don’t feel like either one of those kids would do that again.”
McDonald went on point out the impact of the school’s decision, saying in light of the some of the boys not playing in upcoming games that may attract scouts, the suspension could cost some of the players college scholarships. In McDonald’s eyes, the future of the boys should not be jeopardized for an immature blunder. She adds that each player should be declined separately according to their level of involvement instead of receiving a one-size-fits-all punishment.
Despite the protest, the suspension and ban were upheld, Wink News reports.
School officials acknowledge that the disciplinary action is aligned with the district’s code of conduct, which includes a parental agreement form and states that corrective actions should, when possible, “minimize student’s time away from classroom instruction.”
To see Wink News’ coverage of the suspension, check out the video below:
