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That must be why the parents are suing the school, right?
The parents of two Seattle-area high school cheerleaders are suing the district for suspending the girls from the squad after nude photographs of them circulated via text message.
The two teens were suspended from the squad — one for 30 days and one for the entire year — after school officials learned of the photos in August, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
The families suing Northshore School District weren’t identified because the girls are minors.
The lawsuits, filed on Nov. 17, say the district violated the girls’ due process rights, according to the paper. The families allege it was unnecessary for school officials to share the photos with other staff members, and claim they were negligent in failing to report the matter to police as a potential case of child pornography.
Matthew King, the attorney representing the families, told the Post-Intelligencer that it was unfair to punish the cheerleaders but not the other students who received or forwarded the photos.
“We’re not technically challenging the sanctions as being too strict, we’re saying they weren’t evenly enforced across the school,” said King. “There should have been some punishment meted out to those who were in possession of the photos. … It seems like the girls are getting the brunt of it.”
One of the pictures was taken three years ago and sent to the teen’s then-boyfriend. The other was snapped in June. The lawsuits allege that the girls believed they had deleted the photos, but accidentally sent them to members of the football team.
King says he wants the disciplinary action expunged from the girls’ school records, the suspensions waved and an apology issued by the school.
“This is frivolous,” Northshore School District attorney Mike Patterson said. “It should never have gone to court and they (the families suing) should recognize that what happened here was created by their own doing.”
Seriously? Two high school girls took nudie pictures of themselves, texted them around the school and were kicked off the cheerleading squad for it, and the parents are suing the school?! Because the girls were denied due process by being kicked off the cheerleading squad??
Oh my God, someone introduce me to these parents so I can smack them. Seriously.
Here’s a newsflash for the parents. Perhaps your little cheerleading sugar-pie princesses shouldn’t have taken naked pictures of themselves and forwarded them around the school. No, it was not nice for the other students to spread them around either, but that’s a risk you take when you give them to other people! What happened is the teenagers’ fault.
Also, due process was put in place by the 5th Amendment so that no one can be denied life and liberty without getting some sort of a fair trial or hearing first. Is being kicked off a cheerleading squad for sending naked pictures of yourself to the entire football team (an “accident”, sure) the same thing as denying someone their life or liberty? NO. This is so ridiculous that I honestly want to scream. This sums up what is wrong with America on so many levels. Did the parents ever think of holding the girls accountable? Did they possibly think, “Hm, maybe I screwed something up here if my teenager is sending naked pictures to the entire football team.”?? I would think that would tell you something about the kind of girl you’ve raised, and perhaps you should intervene, stat. But NO. Sue the school, not punish the kid.
Just incredible.
Hat Tip: Say Anything
Shannon in AZ says: Seems like due process applies here as much as it applies to getting fired from a job. It shouldn’t. Due process should apply to where it was intended – the legal system.
The parents would have preferred the school go to the cops, and the girls be up on felony charges?
J David says: Not merely, “…what’s wrong with Americans…” but an illustration of what is wrong with how women are being raised, and the special consideration hot cheerleaders are expecting because they are conditioned by experience to expect it.
Carrie says: Love how one of the “minors” took her nude shot 3 years ago for her “then” boyfriend! What in the world?? Was she 13 or 14 then??? Mom and Dad need to wake up and put the blame where it should be, with them and their lovely little girl! No teen “accidentally” sends pics out to a group of football players! The numbers had to be selected! Parents, it’s time to take out the trash, even if it’s your own daughter.
Mikey says: This is just about the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard of. the girls are the stupid offspring of stupid parents who participate (or did) in a stupidly important extra-curricular activity at a school run by stupid people. I wish them a happy future.
So, will it also be the schools fault when these two little tramps end up pregnant? The parents will sue the school for child support and make sure that the school raises their grandchild for them.
Such bullshit. I hope the school fights them tooth and nail on it and starts to take back their authority to run the schools instead of caving in to every crybaby parent and student out there.
And how can you ‘accidentally’ sent a image from your cell phone to the entire football team?
I think that the parents are entirely at fault in this situation. As i have been saying on my blog for months, teens are out of countrol and parents need to step up. I am 20 and saying this, only alive because my parents stepped up when they needed to
that said, this was probably my 15th blog post on teens and their increasing sexuality, feel free to read and comment on it
http://whalertly.blogspot.com/2008/11/i-would-like-to-start-with-four-quick.html
Actually, the school doesn’t have a dog in this hunt, unless the photo’s were taken on school grounds. The fact that they where cheerleaders and the pictures were sent to football players is of no abstract consequence here, no more so than if they all we in the some other organization together.
If the school obtained these photos, and especially if they were ALLOWED to be viewed by anyone, whoever obtained and or viewed those photos would have violated child pornograph possession law, which would be a criminal offence. Infact, knowing about these photos and NOT informing the police would also be a violation.
However, the parents should be much more worried about the actions of their children than the actions of the school (other than perhaps the sharing of the photos). It’s rather lame to be upset with the school for what it did as far as their suspending their children… but parents nowadays tend to side with their kids no matter if what they did was right or wrong. In my day (dang I’m gett’n old) my rear would have been torn anew and nobody would have seen me for at least a couple of years… until when I got out of military school… or someplace.
Sadly, this isn’t anything new anymore. Kids are becoming ‘sexual’ younger and younger. (Note, one of the photo’s in question was taken three years ago… when the girl was what, 13-14-15? perhaps)
robert a booey says: this sick just sick! btw can anoyone link to these alleged pictures. I dont want to pass judgement until I see the evidence.
AJ says: Valid points, valid worries about girls today. But, as a 20-something year old and not an adult looking on youngsters with confusion and contempt (i.e. not understanding this generation), I don’t find the actual issue of taking pictures to be a huge deal. It was obviously a very stupid decision on the girls parts, something the parents should recognize and explain/instruct (or “punish”) accordingly as to why its a bad idea. We are in an age of limitless information and the abilitiy to share literally anything through technology, and I bet the statistics on how many people have taken/shared suggestive photos on a phone would show how commonplace it is. Following the revolution of the 60’s, 70’s through today, its only gotten easier to be better informed sexually, of course sexual activity, hopefully remaining as innocent as taking pictures, is going to get younger and younger. Irresponsible, dumb and asking for it… but not shocking at all.
Regardless, The saddest part of this whole ordeal in my eyes its that its all over the news, on blogs and being ripped apart by out of touch news casters and parents. The school had the right to take any action they deemed appropriate (besides sharing the pictures with other faculty members!) and that should have been the end of it. Instead, thanks to the girl’s idiotic parents and American media today, its a huge ordeal.
Al, actually, a LOT of school have conduct contracts that put forth rules for behavior wherever the student is, if the student is any school-funded program like football or cheer leading…
I’m not going to count on my brethren for much, but I think in this area it’s safe to declare male superiority. In fact, I think people are staying quiet about this particular aspect of technology because deep down everyone knows there’s a gender difference at work here:
Deluding onesself into thinking one maintains control of digital images of one’s ass.
Men are clearly superior here. Sure, we’re childish. Sure, some of us will do idiotic things. Of course, the male mind thinks a bare ass, especially with a fart coming out of it, is WAY funnier than a mature adult would think.
But once we do something stupid with our camera phones, and it ends up on the innernets where we didn’t intend…it’s all our fault. Even if our little brothers took the pictures of our butt cheeks when we were passed out drunk, not having the slightest idea what he was doing. We still take some measure of “responsibility.” It’s our fault. We know it. Chicks, on the other hand — this isn’t the first time I’ve heard about this. Remember Girls Gone Wild? Grown-up skanks flash their pink puppies out in public, right in front of the camera, and when a tape is made of it they want to sue.
If you have any stories of a male being that silly and inconsistent, please let me know. Lay ’em on me. I’d really like to hear about it. So far, it seems to be a female thing.
Please…spare me your righteously indignant retorts sloshing with dolphin logic. It’s one thing to say all these control freaks are female. Quite another thing to say all females are control freaks.
eh says: this is ridiculous. what the girls did was stupid, no doubt, but the school shouldn’t get to punish them for something (i assume) they did outside of school. i love how people pretend like they weren’t having sex/ didn’t want to have sex when they were in high school. another issue, which i won’t totally divulge in now, is the way this society always equates nudity with sex. nudity is nudity, just because you are naked doesn’t mean you are having sex. obviously the girls took the pics to show their sexiness but they, and the boys the sent them to, have these magical things called hormones. maybe if adults stopped being so prudish about sex they could have open discussions with their children about it and about why they should wait instead of just saying “oh, wait until you’re married” which teenagers can clearly see that very few people do (95% of young people in america wait until marraige to have sex).
eh says: ooops i meant 95% don’t wait until marraige to have sex.
Dookiestain LaFlair says: If these girls were in their mid 40’s and ugly and overweight, then I’d be interested.
just me says: it depends in how old are the girls if they were +18 there is no problem with the parents(they should have prevented that).
Eh – most school activities have standards of conduct rules that say if you break them you will be removed from the team. These are usually things that will bring embarrassment to the school, team or organization. I’m going to bet that sending nude pictures of yourself fall under that category.
And as for adults being prudish about sex, we call this ‘Individual choice” some parents probably do talk to their kids about it and some don’t, but this isn’t about if they are/ were/ or might have sex, it is about the fact that they are underage girls sending nude photos out which they should not have been doing in the first place.
And I would love to see where you get your numbers from, my guess is you are making them up as you go.
SicSemperTyrannus says: Eh –
Are you the guy in the “Stop being mean to Britney” video that was going around last year?
What are you? 14? 15?
Steve L. says: Eh – most school activities have standards of conduct rules that say if you break them you will be removed from the team. These are usually things that will bring embarrassment to the school, team or organization. I’m going to bet that sending nude pictures of yourself fall under that category.
Instinct is right about this. For instance, our high school’s cheerleaders sign an agreement which lays out what behaviors will cause them to be removed from the squad. That’s all the school did. They didn’t suspend them from school; they only suspended them from cheering.
Agree says: I had this happen to me I’m a guy an a senior. We accept responsibility for the pictures but it’s bullying, harassment, and the ding that goes on your transcript. That and the fact, everyone who sent or viewed the pic is at fault too. It’s her fault for sending it but turn the cheek on the people who made their life hell for a long for those pics. The school discriminated against her and not the others and that’s wrong
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