Rah, rah, sis boom bah: Silsbee High School in Texas wants their cheerleaders smiling, energetic, and willing to cheer for their rapists by name. Go team!
H.S., a Silsbee student, reported being raped in 2008 by Rakheem Bolton, a fellow student and athletic star, with the help of two of his friends. In the end, Bolton recently ended up getting off without serving any jail time by pleading guilty to a lesser assault charge.
[…]
Bolton was set to be on the school’s varsity basketball team, and they couldn’t risk losing by barring him from playing for a silly thing like a rape charge. That could impact their chances at winning. Who cares about the traumatic impact it would have an a cheerleader who needed to vocally support a team including her rapist?But H.S. fulfilled her role as a cheerleader, participating in all the cheers for the team as a group. She simply refused to shout the first name of the man who assaulted her when he stood up alone to make free throws.
[…]
Not only that, Caroline Heldman reports on Ms. Magazine’s blog that school officials pushed H.S. “to keep a low profile, such as avoiding the school cafeteria and not taking part in homecoming activities.” As though she should somehow be ashamed for having been raped and brought charges against her attacker.
And if that isn’t bizarre enough:
H.S. sued her school district for removing her from the cheerleading squad. In an absurd court ruling, the 5th U.S. Circuit of Appeals decided to uphold the school’s decision, claiming that a cheerleader was but a “mouthpiece” for a school to use to “disseminate speech — namely, support for its athletic teams.” […] And the idea that just being silent during Bolton’s free throws, a barely noticeable act, was “substantial interference with the work of the school” — um, we’re talking extracurricular sports, not classroom disruption — makes little sense.
Never lose sight of the fact that it IS Texas!
You expect anything good to come out of Texas? Silly people.
If they had done that to my sister they would find them all rotting in a field being eaten by crows.
Wow!
Just goes to show that the school values it’s athletic stars OVER it’s students. Heaven for bid they loose the playoff’s!!
If the guy was a *football* player, they would have made her disappear.
I hate to say it but I hope he meets a group of rival athletes in a dark alley somewhere and gets to experience what assault feels like. Oh, and it would be nice if some school board members had a similar experience and maybe then they’ll change this horrific policy.
#1 – Tom – Yes it is Texas but, it’s more Louisiana in it’s culture. In any case, when I was in high school, someone with an assault conviction would not have been allowed on the team.
What the hell?
Where is this girls father?
I thought in Texas it was legal to hang someone if they even attempted to rape your daughter.
Interesting the post is about the schools action against the girl student but everyone is responding to the rape.
Well, at least we aren’t talking about the schools win/loss record?
No surprise although it is a shame that they care more about winning than a rape victim.
While studying US culture I have always been impressed with how children are all sent to this ‘school’ and ‘college’ place for many years to learn sport. I look forward to visiting this land where everybody is an athlete – and see busy streets full of people running to work dodging speeding triathlon cyclists.
Just one question, what do you call the institutions where the children learn to read and write?
#11: Foreign schools.
Maybe some of you can make use of this:
Silsbee High School officials: Richard Bain, Jr., the superintendent of schools, allegedly ordered H.S. to cheer for her attacker. Why don’t you tell him what you think? Here’s his contact information: Richard Bain Jr., Superintendent, Silsbee Independent School District, 415 Highway 327 West, Silsbee, TX, 77656; rbain@silsbeeisd.org; (409) 980-7800
And you can contact the school’s new principal, Eldon Franco, to demand that H.S. be reinstated on the squad: Eldon Franco, Principal, Silsbee High School, 1575 Highway 96 North, Silsbee, TX, 77656-4799; efranco@silsbeeisd.org; (409) 980-7800
Here’s the perp’s MySpace page
Athletes are GODS !!! Doesn’t everyone know that by now ?
If this young lady decided to pack heat to school, and waste this scumbag rapist and his suporters in the school office, I would send money to her legal defense fund.
In a land without justice. . .
To be technical, I think that rape is off the table here, he was found guilty of assault, not rape. I wonder what the response will be from the audience and the other team’s cheer leaders when Bolton is in a pressure free throw situation.
I’d like to see what schools offer him any athletic scholarships. Probably UNLV rather than Harvard.
Just another example of our sadly skewed values.
I don’t see why Ms Magazine should be taken at face value. Two years to bring a rape case, and with a grand jury withdrawing an indictment? Sounds like the facts of the case were very questionable if they had trouble getting an indictment.
The bigger problem is why is the kid on the team, even if he is a multi-sport star.
@MikeN
Or the defense went to the prosecution and said, we can cross examine the girl in court about her sexual history or he will plead guilty to assault and get a suspended sentence and we all go home early ?
This is just one reason why I have always believed sports has no place in schools. If you want to play football, fine, set up a community league.
@Bob
Perhaps a separation of football field and state could be added to the constitution?
Make a deal, she will yell his name during free throws, provided, the opposing team and fans yell rapist.
And WHY on EARTH would she want to remain on a cheer squad for a school that fucked her over after she was raped?
Humans never fail to amaze me with flawed logic.
Cursor_
So the rape of this young girl continues…
#25 As I understand Texas high school culture, the only activity that remotely approaches the prestige of male sport stars for females is cheerleading. It is also an activity that can lead to college scholarships.
>get a suspended sentence and we all go home early ?
2 years is early? And wouldn’t there be an indictment first?
Not to disparage cheerleading, but the fact that it is considered a legitimate sport boggles my mind.
Is Texas in the United States?
They act like their in the Middle East.
Must be oil on their collective brains.
Texans as a whole are so weird!
Texas is a place I never want to stop but for gas and get the hell out of there!
holy mother fuck! Howthe fuck does shit like this ruling happen? Most disruption has been caused by the fucking school creating a huge fuckign uproar about this than H.S. not cheering in the first place did. Cheering on your rapist basically says, ‘it’s okay, don’t worry about,you just raped me i mean next time you can kill me so i don’t press charges’,. bull fucking shit. btw, this Rakheem Bolton fucker is FUCKING UGLY! have you seen a picture of his face? it looks like a foot. he’s like sarah jessica parker but without the kick ass body. and the only reason he had to rape this poor girl is becausehe can’t get it up the normal way. And btw Response to #19: Mother fucker do you know how fucking stupid American Juries are? Ever hear dof OJ? Convicterd in a civil trial, but not a criminal. Big fuckign shock. A sports STAR got off easy!