Deseret News | Reader comments: Olympus football players suspended for harassing girl on bus

Reader comments
Olympus football players suspended for harassing girl on bus

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Can you spell.... | 6:20 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Certainly these boys crossed the line of appropriate behavior. Nevertheless, can you spell OVERREACTION?

And why is this even newsworthy?

Newsworthy? | 6:53 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

I applaud the school officials for investigating this matter, but it hardly sounds newspaper worthy.
I can't believe that every school disciplinary investigation merits a news article. Not all school disciplinary actions are newsworthy.

What the .... | 7:12 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Now Police are involved with Criminal activity for a slap on the butt ..... I guess we should start arresting our coaches for slapping the boys on the butt during games for criminal or even inappropriate behavior ...... this is going way too far! Where does it end!

Comments continue below

Too Much | 7:13 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Wow they are just being kids flirting around and stuff. I think the punishment is going a little too far. I mean come on juvinille court? The parent who reported them must be happy with how this turned out. It went from a simple smack on the butt to the police being involved. Wow I hope they feel good.

Newsworthy??? | 7:33 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Come on Amy, don't start reporting stuff like this!! You're too good.

parent | 8:06 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

yes this is not news worthy, but if this was your own child being slapped you would not be happy about this. I know if it was my chlid I would be call the police. the parents of these boys should take some kind of action. I would kick their BUTTS.
you guys are sick!

sob | 8:13 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

it ends when your young people learn appropriate behaviors. some thing they dont seem to get at home or in church

Seriously? | 8:33 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Man, I would have been arrested how many times in High School? I am not saying that what they did was right; however, are the police really going to look into this? I guess it would all depend on how the girl was participating. If she was telling them to leave her alone and knock it off, then I could see them getting suspended. But if they are just playing and she was messing with them as well, then, this is a little over the top.

observer | 8:57 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Imagine. Kids engaging in inappropriate behavior on a school bus. Who'da ever thought?

Standing UP!! | 8:56 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Where are your moral values to protect your daughter!!!
I am utterly shocked that you think this is ok.
I'm telling you, this is where it starts by allowing boys to exhibit this kind of behavior.

If it were your daughter..... | 9:19 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

How would all of you feel if it were your daughter being slapped on the rear? Boys in high school usually have more brawn than brains so this sort of thing doesn't surprise me but that doesn't make it right.

Slow news day HUH? | 9:21 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Wow great reporting... This happened a month ago? I'm sure there are better stories to write about than this..... Lets report some news, i guess this might be a good story to get out the day of but a month later???

I heard.... | 9:24 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

I heard there was a fight in the lunch room today at Orem Jr. High. Quick send out a news truck.

Wesley | 9:24 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Thanks to the D-news for calling this to our attention. Let the abusers know that their disgusting actions are an embarassment to themselves, their families, and their teammates.

Re: Parent | 9:29 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

You're darn right I would be angry if my daughter were slapped. But, because I believe that kids do stupid things more often than we'd like, I wouldn't be reporting this to the police. Parent, would you also sue the boys for battery (it's a tort: unwanted touching). And then maybe the school because they had inadequate supervision.

Don't you think a sitdown talk with the principal, the boys, and their parents, followed by a meeting in which the boys apologized to the girl face to face (including all the kids' parents)and one day of school/one game suspension would convey a sense that this is serious?

Parent, how do you know that the boys' parents haven't kicked their butts? Are you just assuming that they haven't dealt with it?

And how in the world does this even make it to the newspaper. If Granite District is reporting it, shame on them.

Can You Spell...

Willbur | 9:38 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

You same people who complain about this being an overreaction are the same who would complain if nothing was done about it. This is inappropriate behavior and if you don't let these sophomore clowns know it will not be tolerated, they could push the line further and further in the future.

Newsworthy | 9:40 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

This is newsworthy because it brings the rules to the attention of parents and teens. It states precisely that these rules are in place and that students breaking them will be punished.

Young women are not toys for immature boys to knock around.

Any kid who tries that with my daughter had better be prepared to pay the price. It is totally and completely unacceptable. No exceptions.

Re: Amy | 9:51 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

While her articles make her seem like a really nice person, her topic selection leaves a little to be desired.

Vitamin C (I am still wondering on why that was in the sports)
and in general her color commenting on random topics such as this (while maybe inappropriate in a work environment is probably unremarkable in the scheme of high school as long as this is all that happend) is a bit too random for me.

Needless to say, I am not a huge fan.

noob | 10:03 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

ya those soph's are way dumb for doing that they should slap their own butts

Fan | 10:07 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Not a fan why???? Because she reports things that you may not agree with or care to read. That is what a reporter does it's a job which they take very serious. What makes it ok for anyone to slap anyone on the butt? It all starts somewhere and if you don't catch or take care of the small things they will grow into big problems. Maybe the fact that this article was written or the matter was reported it will make people think things through before doing them. I think it's great that Amy wrote this article no special treatment for these boys or anyone that acts like this.

anotherparent | 10:21 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

oly students showed NO class at state basketball tournament games last year. With the ongoing lack of teacher and coach supervision -this is no surprise-what is a surprise is that anyone did anything about this and that the paper bothered to report it a month later.

Anonymous | 10:23 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

If this is news worthy and the kids are going to be prosecuted, then throughout high school I witnessed death sentence worthy stuff. Obviously it wasn't okay for these kids to do this but 10.. no 50 X worse stuff goes on in high schools. For a slap on the rear end to reported on Desnews is a joke, get a real story.

STEVE-O | 10:29 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Everybody here needs to think back to high school days. Kids do things before they think about it. It doesn't make it right... but often times they just need to know it was wrong. I think the suspension from school and games is sufficient. Criminal charges is rediculously excessive! We'd all have a criminal record for one thing or another if we were all judged so harshly.

Also, just because some teacher on the bus was offended by it doesn't mean the Female Student was. I hope they at least talked with all the students about what happened before doing all this. I will give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they did.

a great place to live...... | 10:40 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

NOT! What is the great USofA comming too? This is such a joke and the School District and Olympus High Administrators should be ashamed of themselves. As for the adult that reported this so called misconduct should put their head low and pray for forgiveness.

Kevin | 11:23 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Honestly, that is a pretty stupid story. I know it's bad, but if every kid that ever spanked a girl was suspended, there would be like 10 kids left at school. That is a pointless story.

Another Day, Another Age | 11:56 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

It sure is another day and age -- 20 or 30 years ago, girls would have been expected to put up with this sort of behavior from boys because "boys will be boys." It's wrong for anyone to touch anyone inappropriately or unwantedly. The district is correct for acting so quickly.

whatever | 11:59 a.m. Sept. 17, 2008

to ANOTHERPARENT: SO YOUR SCHOOL IS PERFECT IN EVERY WHICH WAY I AM SURE!!!!! I do not and may I repeat I do not accept this behavior. I do commend the coaches for the action that they did take. I am proud to have a student at Olympus High School. It is an amazing school with very outstanding students and faculty. What school doesn't have kids that sometimes make the wrong choice. Before you go blaming the school and the others students. Take a GOOD LOOK at your school and then judge away if you do find perfection! This was nipped in the bud the next day by coaches, parents, and other athletes who do care about their school and others. I think it was a great idea to post this article because it showed that OLYMPUS does have CLASS. It proved that others even the boys own teammates stood up to them and took a stand against such behavior. The coaches and administration did all that need to be done as soon as school started the next day. So when your school has a student that makes a mistake lets see how they handle it! Olympus handled it amazingly!

STEVE-O | 12:50 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

What is the benefit to this added paranoya? Is there less rapes, less sexual abuse, less harrasment? No.. in fact I would say our extra sensitive attitudes contribute to the problem. Now we have people running around suing for every little thing, rape is up, sexual abuse is up!
I'm not saying we should allow everybody to run around smacking each other on the butt and think it's ok. I'm just saying once again... it's gone too far.

True Blue Layton fan | 12:59 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

If you have a daughter, and she didn't like it, and it broke a zero tolerance rule, then suspend them. PRetty simple.

Wait | 1:29 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Did the girl report it or did the adult that saw it? There is a big differece-If the adult reported not the girl then the girl must have been ok with it.. I am NOT saying it's ok-simply that maybe someone jumped to conclusions about who was comfortable with what and who was not.

RE:If it were your daughter..... | 1:35 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

"Boys in high school usually have more brawn than brains so this sort of thing doesn't surprise me . . . . . ."

Wow, there's an over generalization. This is an isolated incident. Do you know how many males have gone through their sophomore year without even coming remotely close to this type of situation. This incident doesn't require us to throw every male between the ages of 15-18 under the bus because of poor decision making by a few.

YES NEWSWORTHY | 3:30 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

what is the newspapers job when someone tips off a reporter about alleged abuse? ignore it? report it accurately? why do you think this is not newsworthy? there are a lot of things out there that don't get reported - i'll give you that - but when it is reported do we want a press who picks and chooses what to investigate/report? based on whose discretion? the district, school, coaches, players or parents? if this was reported a month ago - who knows if all the facts would have been gathered for an accurate news story to run at that time. if they run it right away then they're printing he said/she said. obviously the police were involved to investigate -- still not newsworthy? free press = accountability, not public relations and scores. good job d news.

Anonymous | 3:43 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

WOW! Don't you think these boys have been through enough? Between the parents, school, coachs, teammates & friends?! The punishment was seveer enough without putting in the news for everyone else to read when 90% of you have made a similar bad decision. Yes, it was a bad decision. And, NO the girl did not report it. I can't believe this made the paper when proper ( or overly harsh ) action has already been made. Whats wrong with you people. Get a life. If the girl had been hurt this would be a whole other story! But she is fine and she didn't report it. Maybe whoever reported this should report what she said to them as well to make things fair? Or, because they are boys they wern't harrassed?? Think about it.

lobo | 3:56 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Galatically stupid. No doubt it was the adult who reported it. Several years ago an older couple, with not much to do I guess, followed a team bus all the way from Pleasant Grove to Olympus to report that one of the players had "mooned" them. Player suspended for a few games, but at least he did not take up court time. My daughters can take care of themselves if they did not like it.

Think about it.... | 4:10 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

What did you do in highschool??? hmmmm?

A High School Girl | 4:34 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

I think what happened may have been crossing the line! Why should the boys have the police involved? If this happened to me, yah i would be upset but i would laugh it off. As girls we have to deal with harsher things then getting hit on the butt so I personally think this was taken way too far. If you want to suspend anyone think about what the other girls in school are saying about each other and then make a judgment.

Get a new bus! | 4:46 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

This would of never happened if Granite School District had a bus that wouldn't break down.

The young man is paying dearly for his actions. I am sure he learned his lesson.

Learn from this | 6:22 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

It sounds like most of the people reading this article missed the point. In deciding the punishment the officials wanted to make a statement to other teenagers that might make similar decisions. In the adult world this kind of harassment can get you fired very quickly. This is probably not the first time these boys have harassed someone else, but when it reaches physical and/or sexual harassment someone needs to stop them. The officials that instituted the punishment wanted to send a message to everyone else, and the media helped pass it on. But the message was received in a way they did not intend.

oly football player | 8:05 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

i think this is all a joke. they were just messing around cause we dont have anything else to do while were on a bus for 2 hours on the side of the freeway. ya they might of deserved a susupension but dont even think about pushin it onto the police. this is bull crap!!!

A Dad | 9:48 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

Because all involved were minors the school could not and would not give any of the details. Police were involved and appropriate actions were taken a month ago, for the police to be involved there must have been much much more than a slap on the butt. Stories like this force kids to be more responsible and to act appropriately. The sad thing is the reporter and D News ran a story with very little information and no comments from Olympus HS officials. With these kind of suspensions, read between the lines, more happened than a slap to the behind. This kind of treatment should not be allowed regardless of if you are a Sophomore or a Senior Citizen. All Utah coaches will discuss this with their athletes which is good for the community. Too bad the reporter only got 25% of the story forcing everyone to speculate.

Proud Parent | 10:07 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

I'm a parent of two i went through high school this stuff happens, it's just kids being kids, if i saw my little girl get smacked on the butt yes i would be upset but i would just go talk to the boys or their parents, not call the police or even tell the school board. The Crime doesn't fit the punishment!!

big deal | 10:40 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

why are we making a big deal out of this. Go walk through a high school during school. teenagers are making-out and doing more bad stuff then slapping someone on the butt. Just yesterday a boy slap me on the butt after a Volleyball game i'm not going to run to my mommy or the coaches. Because i know the boy was just joking around. And i'm a big girl and can say stop it.

Anonymous | 10:47 p.m. Sept. 17, 2008

My daughter says this happens to her all the time. Boys are always slapping her on the butt. Its called flirting. Thats all they do and it hasn't gone any further than that and the boys have been doing it for 3 years now. Give me a break people its a little fun. Don't go get all butt hurt over it and bring the cops into it. Thats just crazy!!! My daughter plays volleyball in high school and her coach is always slapping them on the butt and telling them good job. Does this mean we should call the police on her too? Get real people its not a big deal. These boys dont deserve this!!!

Just another | 12:35 p.m. Sept. 18, 2008

nail in the coffin. What an awesome football program! Not only lacking leadership at the top but the coach doesnt even teach respect. I thought people made fun of cottonwood! Guess its time to let some heads roll!

Mike | 1:26 p.m. Sept. 18, 2008

Look, I don't condone what these boys did and yes they should have been called into the office....but legal action? Isn't this the problem with society now. Let's all continue to overreact and file law suits. These judgmental parents really make me laugh. Their kids would NEVER do anything like these evil children. (give me a break) You may not believe it, but you're kids have probably jokingly done the same things, and oh yes even after taking the sacrament on Sunday. It's not right, and it should be corrected, but you don't think we're going a bit far. I have a teenage daughter and she is a great kid....but would I put it past her to swat a boy on the butt....unfortunately probably not....and yes, I would chew her out for it...but I do think she would still be ok to take the sacrament Sunday..definately. Please don't tell my bishop. Come on people....let's be somewhat reasonable here. Let's discipline the kids, but lets not ruin their lives by turning this into something that it's not.

a Mom | 1:35 p.m. Sept. 18, 2008

Amen Mike!

re: whatever | 1:39 p.m. Sept. 18, 2008

woah calm down daytime emmy.

oly football player | 9:22 p.m. Sept. 18, 2008

this is just crazy i was on the bus when all of this happened. we were just coming back from payson our bus broke down and they made a stupid desicion. sure they shouldn't have done what they did and they should have treated her with more respect, but now they're taking legal action?!? she didn't want it to be made into a big deal, yes she told them to stop but she wasn't going to cause a scene and take them to court over it.

btw oly sophs won at west today! go titans!

duh | 11:27 p.m. Sept. 18, 2008

To everyone overreacting, can you honestly say you and your friends never did or never had this happen to you when you were that age? Probably not. Congratulations on turning into your parents from the sixties and seventies. Discipline is great but this is too much. Another thing don't blame the parents or school for what individuals did. I'm pretty sure their mom's weren't right there watching and allowing it to happen. Place the blame where it belongs, on two students not a whole group or organization. For a bunch of adults with kids it seems like you need to grow up and lighten up more then anyone.

West Side Pride | 1:16 a.m. Sept. 19, 2008

Wow! Atleast you all have something to distract yourselves from how pathetic your football team is. Maybe you should teach the boys to slap their opponent with as much vigor as they slapped those girls and perhaps you might win a few games. I love watching your spoiled community implode like this. Please tell your Coach thanks for calling that pass on the goal line. Very kind of him.

Let's go PIRATES!!!

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