MEAD, Wash. — Another lawsuit has been filed against the Mead School District, alleging sexual assault, harassment, and bullying that the school was aware of but failed to report.
Attorney Jay McEntire of the Connelly Law Group questioned why the administration took so long to report incidents of assault that occurred repeatedly at Mead High School’s mandatory football camp.
“That’s an assault that happened on more than one occasion, year after year and I think the big question is why did it take administration so long to report this,” said McEntire. “Concerned parents saying you know I have a kid who saw this video, I have a kid who said that this video is circulating, and that’s what prompted those parents to originally reach out.”
The assaults took place in June 2022, when a Black player was pinned down by other masked teammates and abused with a massage gun.
The following year, a similar incident occurred with another player. Both assaults were filmed and shared on Snapchat.
According to court documents, the athletic director and head coach were informed of the incidents just weeks after the football camp, yet no immediate action was taken, the court documents say.
McEntire criticized the failure to promptly address the situation.
“One of the deeply unsettling things that happened here is the parents were kept in the dark,” said McEntire. And they should have notified the victims’ parents.”
Court documents indicate that abuse and racist bullying continued into the school year, with both coaches and administrators aware of the ongoing situation.
“These kids were being harassed, intimidated, bullied, and assaulted for months and they don’t know,” McEntire said.
The claim states that the district did not begin talking to the students involved or notifying the parents until eight months after the football camp.
“This process has traumatized our clients, without a doubt,” McEntire said. “Our hope is that through this process, we can shed light on what happened here and ensure it doesn’t happen to other kids.”
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