Kid Sues for Being Cut From Team

[ammtd34]

http://www.clevescene.com/scene-and-heard/archives/2014/08/28/former-medina-high-school-basketball-player-sues-after-getting-cut-from-team


A 2013 graduate of Medina High School is taking to federal court because he feels he didn't get enough playing time on the varsity basketball team and that his First Amendment and due process rights were violated when he was finally booted from the team for taking to Twitter to complain about it.

Chase Johanson — now a high jumper at UNC-Wilmington — is suing the Medina City School District, Medina basketball coach Anthony Stacey, Medina athletic director Jeff Harrison, and Medina High School principal Bryan Farson. Johanson's asking for in excess of $75,000.

You can check out the full complaint below, but beware, you may want to headbutt your computer screen as you dive into the world of entitled high school athletes who call the coach, his boss, his boss’s boss, and their employers into court because of playing time.

The complaint says his "relationship with the Medina High School Basketball Program began to sour in December of 2010 during his sophomore year when there was a conflict of interest between a school sponsored musical performance, in which Plaintiff was a participant, and a basketball game. Following the code of conduct for the school, when such a conflict arises, there was an agreement that he could participate in the musical performance with no clarification of penalty. However, as a result of his participation he was made ineligible to participate in one half of their next basketball game."

From there, Johanson and his parents complained to the athletic director ("The coach was required to apologize"), but then felt his "playing time was noticeably reduced for the remainder of the season and he was singled out for negative treatment.” Then, despite a coaching change, Johanson "felt that he was treated negatively and differently than other players."

He didn't make the varsity team his junior year, playing "exceptionally well" and "despite his performance" he was "passed over for promotion to the varsity team by at least one underclassman who was not a starter on the junior varsity team." When he was a senior, he was put on varsity "but was relegated to very little playing time.

His time there was short lived because he took to Twitter on December 14, 2012, after he "sat on the bench the entire game." Per the complaint, he tweeted "Am I that bad that I can't even play on a losing team?" (A review of his Twitter account shows a tweet saying "Am I THAT BAD? #sittingonalosingteam.") And the next day: "At this point the trainer has been on the floor more than I have," and then "At least the Brunswick coaches would take me to play basketball" (his actual Twitter account says "Elyrias coaches and Brunswicks coaches said they would take me to play basketball... if only it was legal #satthroughthreelosses).

The coach kicked him off the team after that.

Johanson's lawyer filed the suit yesterday on three counts, asking in excess of $25,000 for each.

Count 1: That his and his parents' complaints and letters to school officials, and his posts on Twitter, were protected by the First Amendment and that his "ill treatment and ultimate removal" from the varsity team "was a direct retaliation against him for the Constitutionally protected activity...". Because of this, Johanson "suffered humiliation and embarrassment, a loss of liberty, and the lost opportunities for both personal enrichment and potential scholarships."

Count 2: That because Johanson had a desire to play "at the highest level that he could achieve" it is a "liberty interest." By cutting him — thus depriving him of his "liberty interest" — it is a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment because it was done without "due process of law."

Count 3: that his due process was violated because he has "a right to be heard and present ones defense before an impartial body" before getting kicked off the team.

[powerofX]

I have no words...

[GoMuskies]

Hopefully he will get hit by a javelin at track practice today.

[DC Muskie]

I used to live in Medina. Thanks for sharing this because now I have another source of entertainment!

Wow, this is going to be awesome. Of course the smart move is for a judge to dismiss the entire thing and tell him, "life sucks."

[ammtd34]

My favorite part is that the kid's mom is in the comments section.

[xubrew]

Can't he just do what any normal and rational high school kid would do, and egg the coach's house??

[DC Muskie]

I like how people are calling the kid, or maybe he's not a kid, who knows...anyway, calling him a piece of shit.

I would just laugh at him. No need to get all pissed off, he's stupid. His parents are stupid.

Maybe stupid pieces of shit would be better.

[Tardy Turtle]

https://i.imgflip.com/brnn5.jpg

[xu82]

I have no words...

None are needed...

[xu82]

Hopefully he will get hit by a javelin at track practice today.

Sounds like the kind of kid to draw some friendly fire. May justice be done.

[Kahns Krazy]

I wish I could reincarnate one of the Constitution's authors to come kick the living snot out of morons like that.

[Kahns Krazy]

Also, I'm all for being involved in multiple things in high school, but when you skip a game to be in a musical performance, you're really not all that dedicated to performing at the highest level in basketball. Priorities, son.

[xu82]

Also, I'm all for being involved in multiple things in high school, but when you skip a game to be in a musical performance, you're really not all that dedicated to performing at the highest level in basketball. Priorities, son.

Oh, he had priorities alright and he showed what he was most committed to. If he's a junior on the JV in a typical high school, he should stick to the drama club. Not everyone is cut out for what they dream of. It's not Rec League anymore, earn your minutes. Become valuable, not entitled.

[xudash]

I see a wall.

I see a wall in the kid's bedroom where he grew up in Medina.

I see that wall filled with shelves.

I see those shelves chuck full of attendance ribbons and finisher trophies.

And I need no words after seeing all that.

[DC Muskie]

Also, I'm all for being involved in multiple things in high school, but when you skip a game to be in a musical performance, you're really not all that dedicated to performing at the highest level in basketball. Priorities, son.

I would add you're not performing at the highest level of anything really. If he was in a play, how much time did he spend rehearsing? And if basketball was such a big priority, then why on earth did you sign up to be in a play?

Major parent fail here.

[bobbiemcgee]

Micheal Jordan got cut from his HS team. Fortunately for us, he decided to just do a little work on his game.

[DC Muskie]

I see a wall.

I see a wall in the kid's bedroom where he grew up in Medina.

I see that wall filled with shelves.

I see those shelves chuck full of attendance ribbons and finisher trophies.

And I need no words after seeing all that.

I just want to publicly add how likely this is, remembering what I can of Medina.

Well done Dash.

[xubrew]

Count #1 is absurd. His first amendment rights weren't violated. Freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequence. He was not charged with a crime, and could have continued to talk about how much his team sucked until he was blue in the face.

Count #2 is interesting. He had a desire to play at the highest level, and because he was prevented from doing so it violated his liberty interests. I want the Travel Channel to pay me millions of dollars to travel the world. If they refuse, I'm going to sue them for violating my liberty interests. I will retain the services of LA Muskie and keep everyone posted on how that goes.

Count #3 is just not the case in any extra curricular or athletics team that I am aware of.


I want this to go to trial, and I want the final ruling of the court to be that this kid just flat out sucks at basketball, and that's why he was cut.

[OH.X.MI]

I have no words...

I have some words, F*** this kid the culture that perpetuates this. I can't believe it's even a real thing that a kid could miss a game for a musical and not be expected to ride the bench for a bit. Unreal.

[BMoreX]

My favorite part is that the kid's mom is in the comments section.

Seriously, reading that was great comedy.

[BBC 08]

Micheal Jordan got cut from his HS team. Fortunately for us, he decided to just do a little work on his game.

He did not get cut. He still made the JV team that year. I need to add this to the Pet Peeves thread. I hate when people say he got cut. It's simply not true.

[Xville]

I see a wall.

I see a wall in the kid's bedroom where he grew up in Medina.

I see that wall filled with shelves.

I see those shelves chuck full of attendance ribbons and finisher trophies.

And I need no words after seeing all that.


I believe this to be a huge reflection of a lot of the problems that we have today when the kids who were "babied" this way their entire lives enter young adulthood. I was a 10 year old just 22 years ago, and it is amazing to me how much youth sports have changed just in that little time frame. Now it seems that everyone gets a trophy, everyone gets to play, in younger leagues they don't even keep score or records.

Now I also see a problem with the complete flipside to this, specifically what AAU and the like have done. The "talented" kids have been told to specialize in a sport at 10 years old and play it year round. I get the specialization by the time you reach high school but before then is insane.

I wish that these two extremes could meet somewhere in the middle...it sounds like in the "good old days" this is how youth sports were run. It is a shame that they split off into two different polar opposite scenarios or at least from what I have read, heard and seen. I do not have children so maybe these leagues do still exist somewhere, I'd be interested to hear from some of the parents on here with young children and their experiences.

[paulxu]

My head hurts.

[Pete Delkus]

I see a wall.

I see a wall in the kid's bedroom where he grew up in Medina.

I see that wall filled with shelves.

I see those shelves chuck full of attendance ribbons and finisher trophies.

And I need no words after seeing all that.


I see a wall too.

I see a wall in a Las Vegas casino hotel room.

I see the this wall getting scuffed up by the headboard where this kids father is plowing a hooker... Wishing he didn't have to go home to a crazy wife and an entitled son.

And I need no words after seeing all that.

[powerofX]

I have some words, F*** this kid the culture that perpetuates this. I can't believe it's even a real thing that a kid could miss a game for a musical and not be expected to ride the bench for a bit. Unreal.

Agree with you completely. I can't believe that people in the comments section are defending him. It was his decision. Back in HS I missed a baseball game for personal reasons. I discussed it with my coach and he excused me from the game. The next game, although I was a starter, I did not play. And that's exactly what I expected when I asked to miss a game.

[LA Muskie]

He did not get cut. He still made the JV team that year. I need to add this to the Pet Peeves thread. I hate when people say he got cut. It's simply not true.

The article says he got cut from varsity (i.e. didn't make the team) his junior year then made it -- but later was thrown off it -- his senior year.

[LA Muskie]

I believe this to be a huge reflection of a lot of the problems that we have today when the kids who were "babied" this way their entire lives enter young adulthood. I was a 10 year old just 22 years ago, and it is amazing to me how much youth sports have changed just in that little time frame. Now it seems that everyone gets a trophy, everyone gets to play, in younger leagues they don't even keep score or records.

Now I also see a problem with the complete flipside to this, specifically what AAU and the like have done. The "talented" kids have been told to specialize in a sport at 10 years old and play it year round. I get the specialization by the time you reach high school but before then is insane.

I wish that these two extremes could meet somewhere in the middle...it sounds like in the "good old days" this is how youth sports were run. It is a shame that they split off into two different polar opposite scenarios or at least from what I have read, heard and seen. I do not have children so maybe these leagues do still exist somewhere, I'd be interested to hear from some of the parents on here with young children and their experiences.

I was 10 about 30 years ago. Everyone got a participation ribbon. But we kept score. I know this because my 6u soccer team scored 1 -- count 'em one -- goal all season an I've remembered that ever since. (That same team, for the most part, went to club nationals when we were 18.)

[PMI]

These parents are complete morons. They are setting their kid up for a long, grueling road of humiliation and disgrace, and for what? For an acknowledgment that the kid was wronged so they can stubbornly achieve satisfaction? Let it go, guys. You've done enough irreparable damage to your kid already. I hope this kid realizes very early on in college that the world is a much better place with parents like his out of the way.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

I would love to truly know whether this kid just sucks or not. I do know that high school coaches are human and have the ability to be petty a-holes just like normal people and it would be foolish to completely assume the kid just sucks and the coach is beyond reproach. That said, if it were me and regardless of whether the coach was an ass I would never have sued the school.

I participated in my High School music program, swim team, and soccer. Each made efforts and allowed various absences so I could attend the most of everything. I was very good at all my sports, but I was never scholarship good at any of them. I was, however, college scholarship good at music which allowed me to attend our fine university.

I had his problems, but I had understanding coaches who granted me flexibility. I was even good enough to qualify for the state swim meet. Reading this makes me wonder what it would have been like if I had been good at basketball in my Indiana high school if I would have been giving that same leeway.

[bleedXblue]

My angle on this is a little different.

1. Pretty sure Medina is a public school
2. We the tax payers fund the school to educate our youth
3. This idiot is now costing us more money b/c the school has to lawyer up to defend the ridiculous suit
4. Parents must be f'd up to allow this crap to happen

[BBC 08]

The article says he got cut from varsity (i.e. didn't make the team) his junior year then made it -- but later was thrown off it -- his senior year.

I was referring to Michael Jordan and people saying he got cut from his high school team.

[GoMuskies]

GoMuskies got cut from his high school baseball team freshman year. I'm suing that a-hole Joe White!

[Kahns Krazy]

I didn't advance as far as I wanted in the XHoops Bracket Xcitement. I'm suing.

[PMI]

I was referring to Michael Jordan and people saying he got cut from his high school team.

Mike Jordan, as he was referred to back then, was still a short little 15 year old who couldn't shoot well and had no idea how to play defense, and coupled it all with an arrogant attitude on and off the court, so he was placed on JV instead of varsity. Yet, there will always exist this misconception that the great Michael Jordan got straight up cut from playing basketball in high school. I'm on the short list of kids who grew up in the 90s who never could stand that prick, and his overdramatic exaggeration of that story is one of the many reasons why. His thin skin certainly motivated him on his path toward becoming the greatest ever player, but what many people don't realize is it's also one of the many, many shitty qualities he has as the lousy asshole he is.

[paulxu]

GoMuskies got cut from his high school baseball team freshman year. I'm suing that a-hole Joe White!

You had to be taller than that ruler thing on the wall to play. You know that.

[X-man]

I was an all-star on my junior high basketball team. I was cut from the JV team that drew from a bigger pool of kids. I should have sued.

[LA Muskie]

Mike Jordan, as he was referred to back then, was still a short little 15 year old who couldn't shoot well and had no idea how to play defense, and coupled it all with an arrogant attitude on and off the court, so he was placed on JV instead of varsity. Yet, there will always exist this misconception that the great Michael Jordan got straight up cut from playing basketball in high school. I'm on the short list of kids who grew up in the 90s who never could stand that prick, and his overdramatic exaggeration of that story is one of the many reasons why. His thin skin certainly motivated him on his path toward becoming the greatest ever player, but what many people don't realize is it's also one of the many, many shitty qualities he has as the lousy asshole he is.
So, to summarize, you're a huge MJ fan?

[X-band '01]

My angle on this is a little different.

1. Pretty sure Medina is a public school
2. We the tax payers fund the school to educate our youth
3. This idiot is now costing us more money b/c the school has to lawyer up to defend the ridiculous suit
4. Parents must be f'd up to allow this crap to happen

They are indeed public. Still, how did he believe that suing would be a good idea? Maybe it's just me, but I don't think you have to worry about students from St. Ignatius/St. Edward suing because they got cut/demoted to JV.


I didn't advance as far as I wanted in the XHoops Bracket Xcitement. I'm suing.

Now THAT is what we call a life lesson. More so than learning how to pay rent, right?

[muskiefan82]

I got cut once by a piece of paper. I think I will sue the entire logging industry!

[Kahns Krazy]

So, to summarize, you're a huge MJ fan?

I loved Thriller, but everything after that was sort of "meh".

[XUGRAD80]

My dad was 6'2", my mom was 5 foot. All my brothers are taller than me. I'm 5-6. My cousins are 6-4 and 6-5. Should I have sued my dad for marrying a short women? What about MY chance to play basketball? Is it MY fault I'm short? Should I sue Krogers because I can't reach the stuff on the top shelf? And don't get me started on getting cut from playing varsity football! All those 240lb lineman and 185lb running backs abused me! Guess the coach didn't play me because he couldn't pronounce my name! I was discriminated against!

Ya just can't make this stuff up.......wow!

[blobfan]

I see a wall too.

I see a wall in a Las Vegas casino hotel room.

I see the this wall getting scuffed up by the headboard where this kids father is plowing a hooker... Wishing he didn't have to go home to a crazy wife and an entitled son.

And I need no words after seeing all that.
Actually, Dad was called out a couple times in the comments. Sounds like that family deserves each other.

These parents are complete morons. They are setting their kid up for a long, grueling road of humiliation and disgrace, and for what? For an acknowledgment that the kid was wronged so they can stubbornly achieve satisfaction? Let it go, guys. You've done enough irreparable damage to your kid already. I hope this kid realizes very early on in college that the world is a much better place with parents like his out of the way.
Based on the number of articles about young people entering the work force and letting their parents negotiate salaries or call HR to ask why they didn't get an interview, I'd say kids are decidedly NOT learning lessons early in college.

[xu82]

My angle on this is a little different.

1. Pretty sure Medina is a public school
2. We the tax payers fund the school to educate our youth
3. This idiot is now costing us more money b/c the school has to lawyer up to defend the ridiculous suit
4. Parents must be f'd up to allow this crap to happen

Well, I certainly hope they have the pleasure of reimbursing the cost of defending against this nonsense. And I hope it's a big number with a lot of commas and digits. People should think twice before committing acts of stupidity.

[xu82]

These parents are complete morons. They are setting their kid up for a long, grueling road of humiliation and disgrace, and for what? For an acknowledgment that the kid was wronged so they can stubbornly achieve satisfaction? Let it go, guys. You've done enough irreparable damage to your kid already. I hope this kid realizes very early on in college that the world is a much better place with parents like his out of the way.
My kids went to a private (Catholic) high school where 16 year old kids would have a new Lexus with a giant bow on it show up in the car line on their birthday. Talk about setting a kid up! Congratulations, here's the best car you will ever own, because most of them are lazy and spoiled and will have a hard time ever amounting to anything!

[Mrs. Garrett]

Something similar happened in Chicago last year. A local HS hired a new girl's BB coach. The coach had previously been very successful. When he was named coach some very talented girls transferred into the school. Maybe one of them was a former player of his. This was a public high school and all of the transfers met the criteria to play for this school.

Well one of the girls who had been there her whole career and was moved to the bench sued the school. The ISHA got involved and suspended the team from further competition while they investigated. Which ended up being the rest of the season. I believe they were also the #1 team.

Now I'm not saying I fully agree with several new players transferring in for a new coach, but for every other player on the team, especially seniors to miss competing for the remainder of their career is wrong and selfish. And in the end, I don't think any wrong doing was discovered and the coach kept his job.

[X-band '01]

Hopefully the girls from Garrett's story didn't go moping and pouting on Twitter about it like this other guy did up in Medina. It does suck to be in that situation, but hopefully they got some lessons (the real ones, not the made-up ones from the University Station thread) on competition out of that experience.

[xubrew]

My favorite part is that the kid's mom is in the comments section.

That kid should sue his parents. He'd have a much better case against them.

[X-band '01]

Can't he just do what any normal and rational high school kid would do, and egg the coach's house??

Have you ever seen the movie All The Right Moves? They did much worse than egging the coach's house.

[xubrew]

Have you ever seen the movie All The Right Moves? They did much worse than egging the coach's house.

I'm sure I've seen it because I basically know what it's about. The guy from the show Coach is Tom Cruise's college football coach, and they don't get along. That's about all I remember.

[X-band '01]

Craig T. Nelson was the coach in the movie; this was about 5 years before the TV show Coach debuted.

I could just imagine a remake of this movie 30 years later - you'd have coach v. star player, star player banging g/f from band (with or without videotape is up to debate).

Or is that what's known as Friday Night Lights now? I haven't seen the show/movie or read their book(s).

[PMI]

So, to summarize, you're a huge MJ fan?

Michael Jackson? Definitely. Michael Jordan? Only in Space Jam.


My kids went to a private (Catholic) high school where 16 year old kids would have a new Lexus with a giant bow on it show up in the car line on their birthday. Talk about setting a kid up! Congratulations, here's the best car you will ever own, because most of them are lazy and spoiled and will have a hard time ever amounting to anything!

I went to a private school with plenty of kids like that myself and I'd certainly be lying if I said I was deprived of anything growing up. But I knew very few parents who would cross this kind of line. I knew even fewer kids who would have let their parents do so without trying to convince them how badly their screwing their social and school life over.

[xu82]

Michael Jackson? Definitely. Michael Jordan? Only in Space Jam.



I went to a private school with plenty of kids like that myself and I'd certainly be lying if I said I was deprived of anything growing up. But I knew very few parents who would cross this kind of line. I knew even fewer kids who would have let their parents do so without trying to convince them how badly their screwing their social and school life over.

That was the sick part, the student community ate it up and was full of envy, but oddly not in a mean way. They just wished it had been their new car. Don't get me wrong, I admit we spoiled our kids too, but they had to earn it so some degree and at was Toyotas and Nissans.... there was no bragging about what series BMW they got and it was never conspicuously in the car line with a bow the size of a weather balloon. Most of those kids are going to be horribly disappointed by the way life slaps them in the face. Only a handful will never really need to work and, while that has a certain appeal, I really doubt that's what best for them. We can start a fund to make me uber wealthy and see how I handle it, you know.... as an experiment.

[PMI]

That was the sick part, the student community ate it up and was full of envy, but oddly not in a mean way. They just wished it had been their new car. Don't get me wrong, I admit we spoiled our kids too, but they had to earn it so some degree and at was Toyotas and Nissans.... there was no bragging about what series BMW they got and it was never conspicuously in the car line with a bow the size of a weather balloon. Most of those kids are going to be horribly disappointed by the way life slaps them in the face. Only a handful will never really need to work and, while that has a certain appeal, I really doubt that's what best for them. We can start a fund to make me uber wealthy and see how I handle it, you know.... as an experiment.

Sorry, to clarify, I was referring to parents like the ones in the original story, not parents who buy their kids nice new cars. I know lots of kids who got sick new cars and it did not hurt their social or school life. I inherited a Ford Explorer and I was totally cool with that.

[xu82]

Sorry, to clarify, I was referring to parents like the ones in the original story, not parents who buy their kids nice new cars. I know lots of kids who got sick new cars and it did not hurt their social or school life. I inherited a Ford Explorer and I was totally cool with that.
OK, I do wonder who is driving this, the kid or the parents. All have to be onboard, right? Those parents need someone to shake some sense into them!

And my first car was a blue Chevette. The night before I had the most vivid dream of my life - it was a red Corvette. Oh well, I was just glad to be able to get to school (without a 3 hour round trip bus ride) and to my girlfriends! Life was good. Then I later had to drive it through the Smokey Mountains.... I think I can, I think I can...

[muskiefan82]

OK, I do wonder who is driving this, the kid or the parents. All have to be onboard, right? Those parents need someone to shake some sense into them!

And my first car was a blue Chevette. The night before I had the most vivid dream of my life - it was a red Corvette. Oh well, I was just glad to be able to get to school (without a 3 hour round trip bus ride) and to my girlfriends! Life was good. Then I later had to drive it through the Smokey Mountains.... I think I can, I think I can...

Interesting. XU82 and Muskiefan82 (me) both had Blue Chevette's. Must be the 82. I still referred to mine as a "Vette" though.