SPOKANE, Wash – A Spokane County judge dealt another blow to the Mead School District in an ongoing legal battle over a football camp hazing incident.
Several families are suing the school district over incidents at team football camps held at Eastern Washington University.
At those camps, several players say they were bullied, hazed, held down and even assaulted by older players on the team. In at least one case, a player says teammates used a massage gun on his genitals while holding him down against his will.
The school district has admitted some fault, specifically firing the football coach because they say he knew about the incident and didn’t report it.
Several families have sued the district for not protecting their sons. Families have also alleged racial discrimination, saying the boys who were targeted were Black.
“Within the program,” the suit alleges, “Black players… were subjected to repeated racial slurs and degrading language. Teammates referred to them as ‘monkeys'” and “mocked with references to ‘Kool-Aid’, ‘fried chicken’ and ‘watermelon’.”
The families allege that racist abuse escalated to physical violence at the camp.
The lawsuit alleges the Mead School District knew about problems with racism and the sexual violence directed at Black students, but failed to act.
The case is scheduled to go to trial next month.
This week, though, Judge Annette Plese granted one plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgement, saying “The Court finds that the Mead School District is liable under the Washington Law Against Discrimination based upon the facts and evidence presented to the Court for racial discrimination.”
This is the second ruling against the Mead School District as the trial date approaches.
In March, Judge Plese also granted motion for summary judgement for another family on the grounds the school district failed to adequately protect students.
There are still several outstanding issues to be resolved either before the trial starts or by a jury.
Another family has filed a $50 million lawsuit in federal court.
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