How would you handle this?

We ran our boys basketball preview the other day. One of top players we highlighted was booted off the team last season for felony assault on a kid from another school. We had the item in the paper, but of course he wasn't identified because he was a minor.

In the preview, we say he played in four games, then missed time because of an injury and never returned. We have a quote from the coach saying that "other issues came up and he was no longer a part of the team." This did not sit well with the mom of the kid who got beat up. She wants a retraction, wants to show me all of the court records and was primarily the one responsible for going to the superintendent and getting him suspended. She was furious we glorified him in the paper.

The kid is a stud player. If he stays healthy and out of trouble, he is going to be our Player of the Year this year. So, I'm not sure how to approach this woman when I call her back. Of course I'm going to be sensitive to the issue, because it is her son, but I'm not sure where a) what would get retracted or b) how much we can mention anything involving the assault because he's a minor. We asked what happened to him last year, and coach only said "other issues came up." We can't make up answers.

As far as glorying him, I plan to cover the team and the player in the way I normally would. He is a part of the team, I'm sure much to the chagrin of this mother, who said she would "get her lawyer involved, if necessary." Again, not sure where a lawyer fits in here.

 

What's a lawyer gonna do? She has nothing to stand on, though of course it's sensitive. I'd just hear her out, let her vent, say you understand, yada, yada, yada, but bc the boy was a minor we cannot name him or what he did. Does your paper have counsel? If she persists, tell her to take it up with them.

 

That's pretty much the course I was going to take. ... it'll get tricky, though, when we keep running his picture in the paper after 30-20 games. And this kid is capable of putting up 30 and 20 on a nightly basis. Rumor has it the kid who got beat up got beat up because he was being a dick to some girl. But again, youth fights aren't my business, nor that of the paper. But seriously, though, a lawyer .... ?

 

She wants to hire a lawyer, let her. If she wants to waste money on one after the free consult, let her. But, as you and CD say, he's a minor and, barring a sudden and unprecedented change in the law, you can't do anything. If you haven't already, may want to let editors higher up the food chain, news side as well, know about what's going on and the potential coming shitstorm.

You probably already know this, but anything you write about the player in question, from hitting a game-winning shot at the buzzer to he carried the water jugs to the bench, will be seen as glorifying him. So get ready for that.

 

If she's willing to show you the court records, you might as well take a look at them. Maybe there's something you don't know about the case that would make for a column: "Why did Podunk let Freddy Felon back on the team after he did this?"

 

If he merits coverage in a gamer, so be it. But I wouldn't do any feature on him unless he's willing to discuss what happened.

 

So he was booted off the team last year but was reinstated this year? Yeah, that only happens with a 30-20 player.

As dixie said, cover what he does in a game but don't feature the kid. There's no way to legitimately do so without actually talking about the incident. I was originally going to say you may want to avoid quoting him in a game story, but I'm not sure how much good that will do. Anything you write about this kid is going to come across as glorifying him to the other kid's mom. Getting a "gave it 110 percent" quote from him isn't going to cross any lines.

Now if he says something like "we really beat them up on the boards" or "we punched them in the face early and they couldn't recover," I'll let you decide if you keep that quote in the story.

 

This is the tricky part, I guess. If the school came to the decision that he served his punishment, and allowed him back on the team, is it the responsibility of the newspaper to be the moral compass? I mean, we might cost him a scholarship! If he hits the GW shot in overtime, you need to quote him. Not doing so isn't fair to the player, nor the readers (if he does say something like, "We punched them in the mouth" of course you take that out). As previously stated, he will be our Player of the Year, which comes with a big story at the end of the season. I do think asking about the incident isn't out of bounds, though. Not sure who will answer what, but it's certainly worth asking the question. As far as a column, I'm not sure that's a place I'd be willing to go.

 

I'd definitely try to get your hands on those court records if that's permissible. Give you a better baseline to work from

 

If the kid is really good and that line in the preview is glorifying to the other mom then it could be a long winter. I dont know what she wants, sounds like he paid his price and has tried to straighten out. I'm not saying she has to forgive him but it sounds like she wants the scarlet letter on the kid. Not your job as a newspaper. Courts/admins can determine if he should be playing.

 

She doesn't have any legal standing to go after you -- but you have no legal restrictions from saying what he did, either. That's entirely up to you. You can make the decision to soft-pedal it because he's a minor, and that's a legitimate argument to make, but there is no legal restriction on you here. The court won't release the court paperwork on a minor, but mom's got it, and she's perfectly within her rights to show it to you. You can report it if you choose to.

For what it's worth, if it were my son who was the victim of a felony assault by this kid and his transgression was described as "other issues came up," I'd be salty too.

 

I think I would say to her something like, "Ma'am, I understand why you are upset. If I were in your shoes, I probably would be, too. But I think your issue here is with the legal system, or with the coach who allowed him to come back. If he's being allowed to play, my job does not allow me to act as if he's not there."