Legal Question in Education Law in Michigan

My 16 year old daughter is a high school junior, on the honor society and has played 4 sports for her school every year for 3 years. Last week her uncle died, they were extremely close and she was very upset, but she decided to honor her commitment to her basketball team and play in her tournament finals. It was a rough game with lots of elbows & bad calls, which is normal, but in her state of mind I believe she was taking it personal.

They lost and when the buzzer rang the students all started walking off the court when the girl that was the guiltiest of provoking my daughter�s team walked in front of my daughter, without thinking she just punched her.

There�s a video of it and you can see that it wasn�t planned and my daughter says she sort of blacked out right after it happened.

The next day the athletic director told her that the normal punishment was one game out, but a few days later we were called into a meeting with the principle and the AD and they showed us the video, like I said, it was completely spontaneous.

My daughter didn�t seek her out or run after her, the girl was right in front of her as she was walking and my daughter hit her just the once.

Believe me, I am not making light of it either, nor do I condone her action and we are willing to pay for any and all medical treatments that arise from this punch.

The school however has gone to the extreme over this because the girls jaw was fractured. They actually said that if it wasn�t fractured then her punishment would be less, like it was somehow a controlled punch intended to fracture and not bruise?

Anyway, their punishment is the rest of the year out of school suspension, summer school at an �alternative� school (set aside for drug users & behavior problem students) and then she can return to her school for her senior year with NO sports at all (we were counting on a scholarship)

They have totally wiped out her successful career of over 100 combined games, without incident I might add, and are ignoring the fact that she was dealing with a personal tragedy. We still have a hearing that we are going to in a week where we can present evidence to dispute the punishment, but what should we bring? Her school records are impeccable and I know that every teacher and coach she ever had would write a good character letter for her, but is there more we can do? I actually believe that the video helps us because it�s clear that it wasn�t planned, and should we bring up the normal punishments in the WBA, NBA and Colleges, which is game suspensions for fighting?

Please believe me when I say that this was an isolated incident.

Thank you


Asked on 3/06/10, 9:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
William Morrison Action Defense Center

Aggravated assault (i.e. which is what your daughter did) is a one year misdemeanor. Since the victim's jaw was fractured, the charge could be Assault with great bodily harm, a 4 year felony. Your daughter, however, would be charged as a juvenile.

The fact that she hasn't been charged yet is a stroke of good luck for your family. and is probably a charitable blessing on the part of the victim's family. Most mothers who have their children attacked, injured and possibly disfigured by another would call the police.

You're attempt at using the excuse"Well, they (other athletes) do it too" is a failed defense we stopped using in the 5th grade.

Most students would have been permanently expelled for her behavior. Have you considered the school's liability if they re-admit her and she does it again? Has she or you even apologized to the girl and her parents?

Do you think that her intelligence and athletic ability grants her an exception for bad behavior?

This is what you would face if I were conducting the hearing.

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Answered on 3/11/10, 9:49 pm


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