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.
Medina Basketball Lawsuit (PDF)
Medina Basketball Lawsuit (Text)
This article appears in Aug 27 – Sep 2, 2014.
Absent any other information I would agree with Count #1. Given his account of the events, it does seem like his removal from the team was in retaliation for his protected speech. There could be additional information that will of course not come out until this goes to trial, assuming it gets that far, since the school district is not going to comment on this.
Only pussy is you for saying that. The kid only wanted to play a sport he loved to achieve and accomplish a chance at a college career in basketball. Now he relegated to music as a backup because no one was able to scout his basketball skills. Grow up and get out your parents basement and try and do something successful like this kid is doing.
People constantly try to hide behind the 1st amendment when they get on the internet and say stupid things. Freedom of speech means that you’re LEGALLY protected and won’t be prosecuted for what you say. It doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want and expect zero consequences.
If I got on twitter and publicly shit-talked my boss, I’d get fired. That’s not an infringement of my 1st amendment rights. Now if I got on twitter and shit-talked my boss and got thrown in jail for it, THAT would be an infringement of my 1st amendment rights.
He’s a college high jumper and only gets over 6’2″? Doesn’t sound like he has much bounce!
Here’s an idea… get over it already!
As you all probably know, with any lawsuit, we have been advised by our attorney not to discuss details, particularly on an open forum like this one. For those of you who may make assumptions that we are the type of parents who simply couldn’t handle our son being disciplined, we assure you that couldn’t be further from the truth. The severity of the consequences compared to our son’s actions, how they were enforced and events that followed were completely unacceptable. This is not about the good teachers, coaches and support staff in the Medina School system. We have patiently tried every avenue possible to avoid litigation. For two years we have simply asked for acknowledgement of dishonesty and wrong doing on the part of the certain individuals and for policy to be uniformly implemented and updated. Our children’s first amendment rights should not be open to a school system’s interpretation. This has and will continue to be costly for our family. Our son will never get back what was taken from him. But we have heard too many stories from other families about how the administration in our school district operates outside what should be permissible to us as parents. So whatever the outcome, we have decided to see this through in support of our son and for the good of future students who deserve better.
Thank you for your understanding,
Mike and Amelia Johanson
Amelia Johanson the 1st amendment protects citizens from being prosecuted for their speech. It doesn’t protect them from getting kicked off a basketball team. Your son publicly defamed his team and he deserved whatever consequence the coach/athletic director/principal saw fit. If I went on twitter and complained about my employer I would get fired and I would DESERVE IT. This isn’t a freedom of speech issue.
And for the record, sports teams aren’t fair. And life isn’t fair, for that matter. Growing up I knew TONS of kids who had the talent but were cut from high school and college teams so that the kids of donors or alumni could have spots on the team. That’s how it has always been, why should your son get some special exception?
Your son sucks at sports. Live with it. If he was as good as he thought he was then he would have played more. Not everyone gets on the team. Not everyone gets to start and not everyone gets equal playing time. If you wanted your son to grow up thinking he was the best at everything then you should have home schooled him. This is pathetic and you are just as ignorant as your son for supporting this lawsuit. Uh oh, hopefully I don’t get sued too now.
Amelia, you are clearly misguided and confused on the definition and spirit of the First Amendment. Your ignorance should be used as an example to young students studying Constitutional law. The First Amendment offers those in our great land the freedom of speach. It does NOT guarantee us freedom from prosecution for saying something stupid.
Fact – If I yell “fire” in a crowded theater I am going to jail.
Fact – If I make threats aimed at our chief executive I am going to jail.
Maybe it’s time you step up as a parent, take the Silver Spoon out of your son’s mouth and teach him to take responsibility for his actions and reinforce the harsh life lesson that there are consequences for your actions. Teach your boy that if he takes to social media stratosphere to complain about his employer that the real world will introduce him to the unemployment line, not another courtroom.
Good day
“Mom, quit commenting on all my lawsuit articles, you’re embarrassing me”
Spoiled brat. Parents didn’t hug him enough
I wrote a paper about this type of student regulated speech. He will win this easy. He was not on school grounds, which is a necessary requirement, unless the speech could be foreseen to cause substantial disruption at the school… which it probably did not. Winner winner.
Parents MUST stand up for there children. I applaud the reactions of the patents, this guy is so lucky to have parents that care so much for him. Don’t ever let anyone tell you, you can’t do something, lack of talent has nothing to do with it, that is why we have teachers, coaches, leaders. A good leader first describes, then shows, then lets them do it, then tells them all what they did first, what was wrong, how to fix it, works with them till he see’s what he wants,
praises for performance, he will get what he wants. DO YOUR JOB LEADERS
VVasmer Cornelius its great that you wrote some school paper on this matter but you’re mistaken. Students get reprimanded ALL THE TIME for the stuff they put on social media. This will get thrown out of court in 5 minutes.
Having spent 6 years on the school board for an upper middle class district, I know exactly the type of people involved. It is a sad statement of today’s society. I am certain you have cost your fellow community members and taxpayers a small fortune, just so you can make it all about you, under the veil of “righteousness.”
This kid is absolutely pathetic as are his parents. If he was good at basketball he would have played. Maybe he thought he was starring in a real life high school musical and everything would work out perfectly.
Are we as tax payers in MCS paying for coaches and AD to spy on the students social media post and take action that they see appropriate. Where are the boundaries of the schools enforcement of conduct outside of the school? This young man may have made a rash decision by posting his comments but it can be a very slippery slope to allow the school to discipline in this manner. Will they begin to throw players off the team for their religious beliefs, political views or their race?
The parties listed in this law suite would not be in this situation if they refrained from creeping on the students social media post. The shame is that this is waste of our tax dollars in a school system that finally passed a levy. Get back to offering the best education to our students and leave the petty childish disputes for others to worry about.
Btw, Mr. Harrison, if you have time to creep social media you must have time to institute a drug testing program to clean up all the pot smoking going on in most of the Medina high school teams.
It might be a cliche, but it’s true; there’s no “I” in team. This kid’s own snotty statements make me sick. I can pretty much predict the story we would hear from his team mates and coaches. I’m afraid this kid is going to be a nightmare for future employers, spouses, neighbors, etc. Good luck with the rest of your life kid. You’re going to need it.
stop embarrasing yourself mom and dad. Your son has never been as good in sports as you thought he was. if he was he would have played. Parents like you are whats wrong with youth sports. As a coach mike always promoted his son ahead of other more deserving kids and actually led his son to believe he was a better player than he really was. You need a reality check and I hope the embarrassment teaches you a lesson.
This kid needs to be dropped off in the Hough district for a night…
Want some cheese with your whine?
I think all you adults are being ridiculous. Unless you have personally gone through the school system, you can’t speak of what it’s like. Medina is all politics, and they are finally getting what they deserve, because he’s not the first one. Everyone else is upset because everyone wishes they could do the same thing.
It is interesting how easily emotionally charged assumptions are made (and you know what assumptions make). Sports are subjective, but they should not be subjected to immaturity by “adults”. It’s a shame that there are few thought out responses formed through reason and factual evidence as opposed to knee-jerk reactions. This had the makings for an interesting opinion article provoking attention to the issues of law at hand but the opportunity was squandered. It takes a small mind to judge and criticize as opposed to formulating a rationally reasoned arguement. I guess this is just asking too much from the average person.
This is what is wrong with the legal profession in America. That some one would take and file this. There should be a monetary fine for frivolous lawsuits. If you want to file this because you think this is your legal right, fine. But you should have to pay ALL court costs as well as damages if you lose.
Medina is all politics and Chase’s dad used it to his advantage for years. Now we’re going to cry about it when it doesn’t work in our favor? His dad had no trouble benching my son when he was the coach of their youth team. Karma’s a bitch.
There seems to be some confusion not only about the intent of the first amendment but also the difference between a “right” and a “privilege”. Playing a high school varsity sport is not owed to anyone. It is a privilege and one that has to be earned over and over and over with every game, at every practice and with appropriate behavior both on and off the court. If someone is conducting themselves in a way that demonstrates a lack of commitment or that is disloyal to the team, the coaches have every right to remove them from the team. Not every unfortunate circumstance in life warrants a lawsuit. Sometimes, it warrants a good long look in the mirror.
Put away your thesaurus, Jumbojet, and got back to your pre-law classes at Kent St
This just in : Johanson family sues little league and church league coaches for finishing second to last and didn’t receive a trophy. Details to follow.
HA! Assumptions. I am no longer a student and I did not go to Kent St but this journalist did. Way to help his credibility by bashing his education! Thanks for helping my point. None of the vocabulary I used in my post was outside of a 10th grade reading level (what is used to write the New York Times and a lower level than the SAT requires). I merely would just like people to read the brief… and have an reasoned opinion as opposed to an emotional one. I gave no opinion on the matter either way. But I appreciate the misinformed attack.
Freedom of speech means you have the right to voice your opinion and not be prosecuted by the government. It does not mean you can say anything and not expect consequences. I have the right to tell my boss he is an A-hole and/or to post it on facebook or twitter. And he can fire me for being unprofessional. I can’t go to jail for it, but there are consequences.
The First Amendment does not mean you can be a douchebag and not expect there to be any consequences.
This sounds like a kid who will end up living with mom and dad at least until the age of 30. My recommendation Chase: Sign up for the United States Marine Corps and IF they accept your enlistment the first thing you do is tell your Drill Instructor how important you are and Mommy and Daddy will be watching to make certain the D.I. is treating you fairly. The D.I. will assure you that all recruits are treated equally — like dung beetles. Semper Fi, you sorry excuse for a maggot.
So I look back at some of these comments and am so disappointed in myself for missing Jonathan Tarantello’s words of wisdom.
Dear John ~ life is about taking advantage of opportunities, dusting yourself off after you have been knocked down and earning your keep in life. I must say your comments in defense of this young man show your clear misunderstanding of the real world. “Now he is relegated to music as a backup because no one was able to scout his basketball skill”. WTF is wrong with you? If the kid didn’t earn his starting spot by the coach’s standards, the he isn’t a starter. Looks like he should’ve stepped up during practice and games. If you ask many coaches, if they have a rookie and a veteran at the same level, the rookie gets the time and veteran gets the pine.
You the arrogance to tell someone to go out and doing something successful like this man. Funny, from reading the article, he was a failure.
A lot of schools have in their handbooks a section concerning social media, as do professional workplaces. The gist of that section is usually you cannot badmouth the group of which you’re a part and still expect to stay in that group. When I was a student, teammates who badmouthed our team became our water-girl or boy. As a coach, I benched players the first time I hear them badmouthing my team. The second time they’re gone.
If I were the parents, I would be concerned at how little he knows about the constitution and what he wording of the amendments actually mean.
Here’s a tip: get him a pocket constitution and a dictionary for Christmas, and drop the suit while praying colleges don’t hear of it or there goes any college paying he gets.
J
Ok, lawyer or no lawyer, I cannot let this ridicule of my family continue without a response. My son’s tweets occurred over one weekend, the first of which occurred after he was openly berated for a loss he didn’t even participate in, and the others the next day following a non-conference cancer benefit shootout. I was battling breast cancer at the time. My son’s aunt, my only sister died six months after being diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer following an extremely difficult fight. It has been ever present in my son’s lives and something I wouldn’t wish on any teenager. As Chase sat on the end of the bench in his pink socks, thinking surely this would be one game he’d get to contribute to if only for a few minutes, he watched his team get defeated and the clock tick away. He was sad, disappointed and frustrated and, yes, his knee-jerk reaction was to tweet those frustrations. Is he the only 17 year old who has dealt with loss and fear and tragedy; far from it. But he is our son, and if yours were in the same situation, I can’t image your not being flabbergasted when his emotional reaction was met with such severe consequences. Perhaps if this reporter had taken a moment to do a little research on our motivation and trials we’ve been through with this administration, I wouldn’t be here airing my personal struggles with critics who know nothing about who we are and what we’ve been through. So now you can throw out your boo-hoos, your wah wahs and your violins, but direct them toward me. I’m the reason for my son’s mindset, and frankly I’ve been through much worse than ugly words.
If he was as good as he thought he was there are other avenues to play basketball, AAU offers club basketball for EVERY skill level, very good and very poor players. He could have been recruited out of there.
Being a coach, this would set a precedent to all former and current student-athletes for processes of creating teams through cuts and playing time on the court/field. Seems like I might get sued for the multitude of players I’ve cut in the past 12 years of my coaching. Playing time isn’t a right it’s a privilege. You EARN playing time through hard work in practice and earn your spot on the team through off season conditioning and practice/playing the sport. Everyone doesn’t get a ‘participation ribbon’, not everyone makes the team, or gets playing time on the court/field. Grow up and move on from it. Now you have this lawsuit that will follow you the rest of your life in Medina. Outcasts of an upper middle class society for making a stink about ‘sticking up for your son’ and hiding behind the first amendment. You should be ashamed.
I am horrified that this family is not only so stupid that they think they have a colorable claim here, but Mommy shows up here to squawk about it. That says it all. The lawyer has clearly told her not to talk about this, but she just can’t stand by while her family is so justly ridiculed. She’ll be suing all of us next.
As someone who recently moved to Medina, I am hoping Amelia Stone Johanson is not an accurate representation of the parents and citizens I will be encountering from day-to-day. Take the advice of your lawyer and shut up.
Also… how many computers did Amelia have to log in on at the library to get herself 27 likes?
It shouldn’t matter if Chase was sitting on the bench on that game or not! He was treated like the rest of the students on the team. Why give ‘special’ treatment just because his aunt dies? I understand it is tragic, and I am very sorry for your loss, but if chase felt so strongly about playing in that game for his aunt couldn’t he have talked to the coach prior? If the coach would not have put him in couldnt he have possibly don’t something else in memory of his aunt? There are so many things wrong with this situation. First your sueing a public high school, which I don’t understand why. It is a high school, your there for a few years, then you are out. You forget everything you did in high school when your older anyways. Why waste your time and money on something that has already happend. Was there a conference with Principal Bryan Farson after this incident? Was there an expressing of concern with the Coach? These are serious events that could have easily solved this issue. It seems now a days we find ourselves hiding how we feel, bubbling it up, then letting it explode after the event has occurred. My two cents doesn’t really matter in all of this, I’m just a kid who graduated high school this past year. But if I can see the situation like this, why can’t everyone else? Whether you are 90 or 10 you should always be striving to be open and compassionate with others. If somebody offends you why wouldn’t you tell them? Just my point of view..
Ok, now I’m confused… He didn’t play in the charity game. Are you saying he should have played because he was a great basketball player and would have gotten discovered by a college coach who then would have offered him a scholarship (which seems to be the basis of this lawsuit) or should he have played because your family battled this disease and the cause hit close to home for him?
I’m sorry, no disrespect to your family, but this lawsuit is absurd. And the fact is, when your son chose to pursue this lawsuit (which was bound to be made public), you opened yourself up to the scrutiny and the criticism. It seems to me that the bottom line is, your family thought your son was good, and clearly the coaching staff did not…. this happens on every team, in every sport, on every level. As for the tweets? Is your son a bad kid for doing that? Of course not! He was a teenager and obviously reacted out of frustration. But are there consequences for such actions? Absolutely. Who among us could bash our boss in a public forum and not expect some kind of repercussion?
I can’t even imagine the Pandora’s Box this kind of lawsuit would open if it is successful in court. Parents everywhere, who feel their kid is a much better athlete, musician, artist, etc.. than he or she actually is, could immediately start suing every coach, teacher, and contest judge on the basis that they cost their little prince or princess a chance at fame and fortune. Unbelievable!
I am so sick of this generation’s inability to realize that life isn’t always fair. There’s no loses anymore, because now “everyone is a winner!” Schools are getting rid of class ranking in fear of hurting someone’s feelings, because god forbid you don’t get rewarded for being in the bottom 50% of your class. Your son wasn’t a good player ans decidea to act like a spoiled little bitch about it. It’s a varsity sport, you aren’t entitled to even be on the team. That’s why it’s varsity, only talented players get to play. Get over it kid, you’re not special..
This kid is going nowhere in life more than likely if he can’t handle discipline and take responsibility for his own ignorant unthought-out actions. I wish him luck in life and hope he has fun living with his parents until he’s 40. This is what’s wrong with people today…. They think they are so entitled to whatever they want and should get it all handed to them. Newsflash! That doesn’t happen and his parents encouraging this nonsense should be ashamed of themselves. Tell him to pick himself back up and try for something else…. Life isn’t fair, the end.
Wow, I am just in complete awe at this article but more so that the kid’s mom is religiously commenting on it. The court’s definitely have better things to worry about than the whiney kid who can’t get over the fact he didn’t play. Just another Medina kid who feels the world owes him something.
I hope he wins the lawsuit because that will set precedent and then I can sue Chase’s father for benching my kid when he was TEN because he looked at my child as the only real competition his son would have in high school! Oh and maybe I can get more for emotional distress because my son loved the sport and after one season with Coach Mike, he never wanted to play again. He made Chase feel so superior and entitled on the team that Chase would be nasty to the other kids – calling them names, telling them they sucked, etc. The hatred my son feels towards basketball lives in him to this day. Do we have the right to sue Amelia?? We’ll be rich! We always knew that once daddy couldn’t control the puppet strings for his son anymore that the real story would come out. I agree with Karma, you’re getting what you deserve. Quit blaming Medina and the “politics”, because YOU guys were the politics in Medina. If Chase was good there is no coach in town that would have benched him. The reality and the perception of the parents don’t match. All you are doing is embarrassing your family name. I’m sorry that you’ve had so many hardships, but you’re learning a lesson that your family taught so many kids when they were little – if the coach didn’t think they were good enough (right or wrong), they didn’t play. Suck it up and move on – the rest of us did. Chase has a lot of talents, it isn’t healthy to dwell on the past. Besides, basketball is so 1970’s – no one even cares about that sport anymore.
Dear Family – take a refresher in constitutional law and get back to us instead of wasting the courts time with frivolous idiotic lawsuits.
I went to Medina and played soccer. My senior season I rode the bench most of the year, as well as having underclassmen get more playing time over me. I accepted responsibility for not putting in the work to be good enough to beat out my teammates for a position.
Sports are about competition, not seniority. If he wanted to play so bad, he should’ve worked harder and increased his abilities so the coach had no other options but to play him.
I also now have a job and if I was frustrated with my boss/company and blasted them on any form of social media, I’d expect to be reprimanded. Biggest issue with the generation I grew up in is our feeling of entitlement. You will not be given anything and are always fighting for your job, whether it be sports or work, every single day.
Also – to the family doing this for future students. If this is about future students, I encourage you to place any money won from this case into a scholarship fund to help the “students who deserve better”. You can give them better by your donation. Also, thank you for allowing your son to blame this on outside sources rather than forcing him to take responsibility for his actions. It’s sad more than anything.
For all of you leaving such horribly hateful comments you should be ashamed of yourselves. The name calling is disgraceful, especially hiding behind fake names. It is one thing to have an opinion, it is quite another to act like thugs. I pray he wins. If he does, I guarantee there will be massive celebrations from countless families whose kids were treated very badly in our corrupt HS. It takes much courage to bring to light the injustices that infiltrate Medina sports. This case is the top if the iceberg.
This is the dumbest thing I’ve read in a long time. Just because your son is on the team doesn’t “earn ” him the right for playing time. Playing time is based on hard work. If your son was such a great basketball player no coach would bench him regardless if he liked him or not. Shut the hell up already. My son sat the bench his entire senior year,did I hate it ,yes but they won the league that year.The coach knew what he was doing. L Nielsen yes the name calling is childish,but really you hope he wins? You play if you earn the right to,not just because you sign up for something.
It will be interesting to see what the courts do with this. I think count one is the only one with any possible merit to consider. As a coach and educator, I do think the young man was out of line for such comments…but did the administration and coaching staff have a written plan in place – that was shared with the athletes prior to this incident – regarding social media and consequences due to poor remarks or not? If not, they may be on a slippery slope, depending on the judge. Others have commented on the mistaken view of the first amendment right to free speech, so I don’t need to comment on that. Regarding the other charges – I suspect those will be thrown out…and if not, shame on our courts. This is not “everybody plays,” it is a competitive sport, and a coaching staff has a right to make decisions based on their philosophy, determination of talent, and evaluations of athletes to fill team needs.
By comments and the likes/dislikes, it is very clear the outcome of this case. To the mom: you’ve battled cancer, why would you want to bring on all this pain, stress and hardship to your family? In 5 years none of this will matter, but the toll it could have your health could be devastating. This wouldn’t even be an issue now if it weren’t for this lawsuit. You’re just holding time still by holding on to the past. I understand that you want to right what you consider a wrong, but your children are always going to come across injustices. Life isn’t fair and we can’t protect our kids from it. My kids have been cut from sports or treated unfairly in life, but in hindsight it lead them to their true calling and passions in life. At the time it is was devastating, but over time we saw their true path and their happiness wasn’t found in our battles. Your child is in NC making a new life, and what sounds like a good one, and you’re ruining his reputation for years with this suit. One quick google search of his name and every coach, employer, etc can see this and judge him. It could stop him from getting into med school, getting a job, and lead him to a lifetime of unfairness just because he couldn’t get over something that happened in high school. Why would you want that for him? Count your blessings that you are still here, your children are healthy and that, from what it sounds like, you have a very gifted son. I’ve taught my kids that no matter how good you are at something, there will always be someone out there better. Adversity only makes you stronger in the end – that is if you push yourself to be better. You’re doing the opposite for your child, you’re enabling him and the adversity won’t make him better, it will make him jaded. Someday you’re going to look at this and regret your decisions. Stop the mess and drop the lawsuit. I can only imagine how much this is going to rack up in legal fees. You’ve made the public aware of your issue, don’t financially and emotionally ruin your family for a losing battle.
In my experience, those crying politics are angry because their kids simply aren’t good enough to make Varistity and play. And guess what, not everyone CAN be good enough and make varsity at a school as large as Medina. That is simply life.
What absolutely amuses the hell out of me is that you’re all adults talking like middle-schoolers making fun of this kid, and his parents, as if you’re better than them. Pure arrogance, and it’s just flat-out rude. I’m not saying I agree with the situation by any means, but when you all have to resort to name-calling rather than an intellectual debate, you’ve already lost, too. Like I said, I don’t agree with this scenario, but if you all want to keep saying “get over yourself”, you should probably look in the mirror.
I don’t agree with this situation at all (in fact, I kind of laughed) but it’s amazing to me that people who claim to be “adults” on here are talking like middle-schoolers. Is that supposed to make you look cool or something? You know what I did when I didn’t get played and I had enough? I told my coaches to shove it up their ass, and I quit and did better, way more important things than sports. If you all have to resort to name-calling, rather than an intellectual debate, you’ve already lost, too. If you want to say “get over yourself” to anybody, look in the mirror, first.
“I guarantee there will be massive celebrations from countless families whose kids were treated very badly in our corrupt HS. It takes much courage to bring to light the injustices that infiltrate Medina sports.”
Wow.. words escape me after reading this comment.
When I think of the term “injustices”, I think of crime, poverty, child abuse, children being neglected, etc.. I most definitely do not think of upper class white kids not getting enough playing time on a high school athletics team.
When I think of the term “courage”, I think of firefighters, police officers, soldiers, etc.. I certainly do not think of entitled parents attacking coaches because their son feels like he isn’t getting enough minutes on the court.
Shake yourself L Nielsen. Embarrassing post.
This guy is is piece of shit, grow up!
So I am sure if the former students and parents wins or settles for any monetary amount that they will donate it to some organization since they aren’t that “type of parent”…hmm
Hey Dad….if you wanted to guarantee your son playing time… YOU should of stacked the deck and got the coaching job there.
Anthony Stacey is one of the most qualified high school coaches out there and knows the game. I think he knows what starting 5 to put on the court. Medina was lucky to have him as coach.
Amelia, for your tragedies I am sorry. Cancer is a terrible disease.
I have question one thing. Not one, but two coaches are accused of persecuting your son. I have read nothing that seems to indicate one of the assistant coaches from the program has stood up and defended your son’s position. It is just a guess that you have never coached a team sport to understand the essence of a team bond. Kids working together to overcome a challenge. My next guess is that you weren’t present in the locker room or at all of the practices to see his work effort and relationship with other players.
So I decided to look up your son’s Facebook page. He just looks miserable playing his instrument in his profile picture. Not only have you failed your son, you have also failed society by wasting everyone’s time with this frivolous lawsuit.
I’ll start by saying this isn’t the kids fault. I doubt this kid even cares about this now, and it’s only being pursued by his mother who is trying to take her frustrations in life out on the Medina school district. Do you think this only happens in Medina? 99% of parents would tell their kid to suck it up and move on. Legally whining about this makes you look ridiculous as parents. I’m not even going to get started on the example you’re setting for your son: “when you don’t get your way, just file a lawsuit”. Awesome life lesson. If you feel the need to sue a school district for an apology, you have things wrong with you only a therapist can assist you with. I’m sorry about the struggles you have been facing, but again what does bringing that up have anything to do with your son being frustrated with his 17 yr old knee jerk twitter statement? No one will dismiss your irrational justification for your whiny lawsuit because you have cancer, or lost your sister. Other people have similar battles as well. You should still be able to be rational about things. If you feel your son can say anything without repercussions, then I truly pity your way of thinking and what you are teaching him. He has a rude awakening ahead. Stop embarrassing him and let him live his college life, instead of having this follow him to his new beginnings and fresh start.
This is ridiculous. From a parent that has been around this family and this child growing up through sports let me clarify something that I believe 100%. Chase didn’t get kicked off the team because of Twitter. Many people reading this article have never played a sport at the High School, College or Professional level. I have played at all 3 levels. It’s true, Chase didn’t get much playing time… because he wasn’t that good. Not only was he not that good, he was lazy and selfish. Basketball isn’t the only sport where the “Family” felt that he was much better than he was and deserved more playing time. So “they” would complain to coaches, other parents and players about his playing time and saying how great he was. It’s called entitlement and there is no place for it in competitive sports. My family heard for years prior to my child starting high school that “It’s Political”… you have to know someone or your kid won’t play. WRONG… Coaches recognize players that work hard, help other players, play a team sport as a TEAM and have a good positive attitude. Because as you well know, a bad attitude on a team can destroy the ENTIRE team, not just that one person. That was Chase (and his parents) in a nutshell. Sometimes, for the good of the team, you have to get rid of the virus. That’s what this coach did and I applaud him for it. As I said before, other sports and other teams resulted in the same sob story. And prior to Twitter, he quit or was given the “talk” on other teams and in other sports. So, this has nothing to do with constitutional rights. Playing on any competitive team is a privelege and not a right. If parents would teach this to their kids early in life then these ridiculous lawsuits wouldn’t waste peoples time and effort. Grow up and move on and we will all be much happier!!
That’s Life! Suck it up and move on!
Mrs. Chase, your family’s battles with cancer (which I hope you win) do not bear on your son’s rights. No student has a first amendment right to bad-mouth the coach, etc., and is thereafter immune from any discipline in that sport by that coach. HS sports exist, in part, to teach sportsmanship to the players and your son was openly and consistently defiant, choosing instead to challenge the coach’s authority and decisions.
In pink socks or not, you gave your son terrible advice and raised him to believe that he has a legal right to whatever opportunities he desires. You have spent not one moment discussing the students who did play, how they felt, how they interacted with the coach, what this opportunity did for their lives, etc.
Your son was not and is not best-served by your “me first” attitude and your family should dismiss this lawsuit promptly, as you try belatedly to teach your son that respect for those in charge in a necessary part of success.
Best wishes for your health, and please stop using it to excuse your son’s misconduct.
Holy crap. What a whiny little bitch.
To quote Dennis Leary, “Life sucks, get a helmet”. Ugh. This kid even looks like a self entitled petulant little turd.
Can we see his stats from his JV season in which he “performed exceptionally well?” Of course, he was a Junior playing on the junior varsity so any stats would likely be a bit inflated. Most truly gifted basketball players play varsity basketball before their junior year.
P.S. – you sure are leaving a nice digital footprint for future employers to read. Good luck with finding a job with any decent company in the future.
still a pussy
I grew up in Aurora (not too far from Medina). There are politics everywhere and in every high school athletic system. I played baseball / hockey / football throughout high school. The fact of the matter is that if he WAS a talented player he would have played.
A federal lawsuit is not the way to solve this problem. As if our court system isn’t overflowing enough with bs cases.
To the parent: All you are doing is revealing your son as a litigious, vindictive person who will struggle to find future employment. Even if you win, that 75k better last the rest of his life, because nobody in their right mind will hire him. Shame on you.
Seriously!!! What a whiner! So late in life when little Chase doesn’t get a good raise…. will mommy be going in to sue his boss??? GROW UP!!!
Wow. The comments are harsh, people. While I don’t agree with a lawsuit, I think the Coach just didn’t like him. Teens talk and opinions were that he was largely selfish as a player, not out for the team but for himself. Vocal parents never carry a good legacy to a new coach when it’s about “how good” or “not enough playing time” or just “not fair”. Not sure if this was the coach’s opinion, but it doesn’t matter since it’s done. My heart goes out to the family though, as this lawsuit won’t shed light on the real issue. It won’t help in the end with any of life’s lessons. Win or lose. This glory that so many seek through sports does nothing truly meaningful and lasting in life. It might be accomplished today, but most won’t remember. Truth of the matter is that he probably wasn’t given ‘proper student handbook report’ after being cut because of the vocal nature of his parents over the course of 2 boys in a large school playing sports. Politics exists and humbleness is not as abundant as it should be. And people, especially coaches are just people who like or dislike students for unfair or legit reasons. In the end, it wasn’t mean’t to be. It’s hard, but no one is a failure totally because they were cut from their high school basketball team. Heck, Michael Jordan was cut from a school basketball team. Pick up, take your God given talents and capitalize them elsewhere. Might not work for basketball now, but seems you have other things going for you, Chase. Remember achievements, fame, success even doesn’t make the person’s character great. It’s deeper than that. Good luck.
i know how you feel
come be my neighbor in siberia
I dealt with politics in high school and it shaped my life. My parents were there to listen to me as I figured out that life is not fair. Big lesson. Yes I had less playing team lots of meetings with the school officials and it wasn’t “fair” to me but it was an important life lesson that my parents let me learn from and move on not try to change the whole to be fair to only me. The other teammates probably saw his tweets and who would want to play with him and his “I” attitude.#losingteamstillateam
Mike and Amelia Johnson. You are pathetically horrible parents, ignorant of the 1st and 14th Amendments and on whom many if not most of your child’s failures and shortcomings could and should be blamed. Get your attorney ready for the lawsuit you’ll be filing in 3-4 years when your child doesn’t get the job he wants but doesn’t deserve.
Just so I understand….two different coaches, with completely different views on how to run a successful program, both evaluated Chase the and came to the same conclusion. And we are to believe that two very well respected coaches (Peters and Stacey), their boss (Harrison) and the Administration (Farsons) all were against this boy? When it looks like BS and smells like BS……
Sue happy society….. This is almost as bad as the coffee I ordered burned me. I didn’t know it was hot because it wasn’t written on my cup. Damn that mcdonalds. So back to the issue… High school sports are extra circular activities. They can me used as platforms to earn scolorships to help with education. Scolorships are handed out for many reasons, but I don’t think they are handed out for less than exceptional leadership, not working well with others, tweets of negative nature. Less than stellar athletic ability etc. If this so called basketball player was as good as he claims or had other benefits taken away because he wasn’t able to display this so called great ability. How is that he hasn’t walked on to his college basketball team and emabarssed those who got recruited over him. I’m pretty sure that lack of playing time in high school is not the issue. Chase do your self a favor stop tweeting and work on something productive……like getting off moms teet. Man up, UNC Wilmington is proud to have you. Just remember it’s not UNC ‘s fault if you don’t make the Olympics for high jump. Thanks mom and dad for putting me in one of those leagues that doesn’t keep score. Were all winners …..right?
I’ve read the harsh comments. Yikes. ok, since we DON’T know everything here and tend to insert ourselves into what we THINK we know… (come on, your 10 year old cut by his dad? really?) Why didn’t Chase just get cut at the tryout period if he wasn’t good enough to make the team? Instead, he makes the team and goes forth having issues with the head coach. (read the litigation papers) So in summary, it wasn’t that he was cut, but his treatment during the whole mess that caused his social media outburst and hence this is the final straw and he’s out. Sounds like it wasn’t his skills in question, but maybe his attitude, perhaps? Kids talk. During the season they said he wasn’t liked by the coach because he was selfish as a player and would often break away and run down the court and not utilize his team. Whether this is true or not doesn’t matter since it’s over. This, as with any one incident in someone’s life, shouldn’t define him. He is a talented person in other areas as well. He is misjudging this experience by going to court. It’s one thing to be regretful or angry, and another to get the law involved to cause grief for the others involved…. Coach, principal, and athletic director. If exacting vengence is at the heart of the matter, it’s going to be a big cost. Money for the attorney and respect for the family, who are basically good people. A bit zealous about “achievement-accomplishment” and what it really “says” about a person. I can’t imagine Amelia expected such back lash as it’s obvious from reading what she says here. There’s always a lesson in every hardship. Hope the eyes of all involved can be opened when it’s all played out. It’s gonna be a rough one.
Any parent that has had to deal with Harrison or Farson (and there are THOUSANDS of us) on crap that they pull (including playing ineligible players, players with major school infractions, attendance issues, crappy grades, drug additions, etc.) would fully support this action.
They’ll toss a kid for an emotional comment on social media while a kid who is headed to narcotics anon after the game gets play time. Pro sports have better anti-drug policies than MHS does.
Chase & Family, know that there are some of us that completely get it and support you in your action.
Ha! Michael Jordan was cut from his high school team — are we really comparing that to Chase? Michael’s mama probably did the right thing and told him to work harder, instead of enabling his mediocrity. I don’t remember the Jordan’s suing the school district! THAT is the difference. Some take the criticism and make themselves better, while others blame everyone except themselves. Michael Jordan’s coaches weren’t wrong for cutting him – he wasn’t good enough AT THAT TIME in his life. He worked harder and made himself the legend he turned into. I bet Chase was a very talented, athletic kid who had parents that did him a disservice. He probably could have been great if taught about a work ethic and fighting every minute to hold your place on a team. The work isn’t done once you make the team, that’s when you’re getting started.
There are many harsh comments, but there is also a lot of truth being said. Hard to hear about your own kid and your own family, but if you listen and open your mind, you may actually learn something — or you can choose to be dubbed the village idiot.
Hey GAIN WISDOM, it’s called sarcasm. I was trying to sound as stupid as the Johanson’s. Get it?
@SportsRFun. That was very well put. I respect your post. The whole thing is very messy and I feel for all involved.
Whats sad is the fact people on here forget that it is these very amendments that guarantee freedoms and liberties. Just because something seems minute to one doesn’t mean it isn’t protected. We all have goals and dream to pursue our purpose without illegal road blocks being put in our way simply because someone disliked what someone has said about them or their personal view. Fact of the matter is wrong is wrong, whether a kid who is wrongfully judged for exercising his rights or an adult. Its not what an individual dares to dream or to become or goal in life that is to be put on trial but the actions that are set against them to hinder their pursuit by any individual, group, organization, government are what should always be called into question especially when there are no merits by or under the law in which to exercise such injustice. Bottom line is if we do not stand on the very foundation in which this Country was founded and allow injustice to openly exist no matter how minute the cause than we have already loss the foothold and cornerstone of our democracy. Wake up people.
About time. You speak as if you have first hand knowledge of every situation that has occurred at MHS and we all know that is not true….coaches have a very difficult time every year during tryouts. They know there are good kids who are on the bubble and hearts are broken because of tough decisions that must be made when they are told they didn’t make the team. The underlying message of this whole discussion is about entitlement. Farsons and Harrison do a great job in supporting their coaches and then have to deal with entitled parents and their entitled kids ad nauseam….do you really think they got into education and administration because they want to play favorites and punish certain kids? Of course they didn’t! They do it because they love kids and want to teach them…..teaching includes learning to win and lose with character. If you lose or don’t make a team most of us learned to not blame the ref, a teammate, the coach or politics, but to accept responsibility for where we failed as a teammate or individual. If in your heart you really believe that they are out to get you or “thousands of other people” I would challenge you to really think about what you said and question your role in this entitlement society.
I wonder if his parents fights all his battles? This is whats wrong with todays youth. They are lazy, self-righteous little a**h***s because there parents think they dont need to try any more…just sue! All this kid wants is a free ride thru college. Guess what nothing in life is free…you MUST work for it (not sue for it). Get off your high horse and GROW UP you little sh**!
As a former medina high school athlete. I can without a doubt say this: your son did not deserve to play. We had the same type of parents on our team who overestimated their son’s athletic ablilitu and severely underestimated his inability. What kind of coach wouldn’t want to win? To win you have to play your best players. I find it interesting that none of his teammates spoke up about him needing more playing time, only him and his parents. If one of the better players on my team wasn’t getting playing time, which never happened, there would have been a strong vocal outcry to the coach from multiple players. The moral of the story is that your son never would have gotten scouted to play for college intramural team let alone a varsity team. Get over it your family sickens me.
Parents- stick this kid in the Marine Corps. Then see how much he complains about ‘not getting special treatment :(‘
BOO-HOO
Sounds like if he would have spent more time In the gym
and less time on social media, we wouldn’t have this problem now would we.
I know that any tobacco offense is 25% of games suspended, and drug/alcohol offense is 50% games suspended. Harrison is an asshole anyways, and Stacey made a bad judgement call on this one.
As a side note – if he was indeed suspended for half a game because he had to perform with a school musical group that was part of a class he was taking at the time, that is in violation of school district policy. Band and orchestra concerts take precedence over athletic events because they are being taken as a class for academic credit.
I printed off a copy of the court summons, I ran out of toilet paper.
Just suck it up and get over it. You didn’t get enough playing time TWO years ago, yeah let’s just sue them. No. Not everyone gets equal playing time, that’s life, that’s high school sports. If you actually had the talent you think you had, you should have tried out for an AAU team. Swallow your pride and move on with your life.
He doesn’t need a law suit he needs a spanking. Son you’re not that good that’s why you’re not playing ball in college. If it is your sole desire to play ball then enroll in a DIII and have at it. I’m sure my friend you are one of those athletes who can’t evaluate his own talent and doesn’t realize he is not as good as the other guys on the team. Nope everybody doesn’t get to play and everybody doesn’t get a trophy. It’s time to buck up and face the reality of life.
Is there a statute of limitations? I was not permitted to play on the Rochester John Marshall hockey team in 1971 because my hair was too long and I “looked like a damn girl”. This has hurt me so much throughout my life I cannot even begin to guess at a dollar figure. The hurt was not lessened even on the day I made Chief Petty Officer in the Navy. Now that I am approaching my golden years, I so could use some easy money to pad my retirement plans.
Should be immediately thrown out of court with one glance….and suggest that his testicles be removed
Just the fact that the kids’ mom is on here posting says all you need to know. Entitlement and lack of accountability are two of the biggest poisoners of high school team sports. Parents going over the heads of coaches to weak “no backbone” administrators is the same old story from coast to coast. There are thousands of these underachieving “sour grapes” suffering individuals out there, whose parents continue to fuel the fire by choosing to blame a coach, teacher or other authoritative figure. And nothing screams entitlement like suing your former HS bball coach for 75K. Wow! The parents are clearly the issue here and any administrator that would even entertain these clowns clearly isn’t worth his/her salt. Hopefully the buck stops with the judge! What a joke!
What’s really amazing is everyone who thinks sports are “political!”
I am a veteran head coach in ohio, and have NEVER met a coach who doesn’t play his best players. NEVER!
People at every school in the state say it so “political”… No, it’s not.
We’ve all been through trial, we’ve all been through hardships. As a parent those are the opportunities to teach our children to be strong and persevere. They are the opportunities to show our children how strong we as parents are. The trials and hardships are not an excuse to say “I’m special I deserve this or If I don’t agree I’m gonna get retribution”. This give every kid a trophy mentality is what is wrong with our world today. My son actually went through the same thing in football. Little playing time and then whinning about it on social media. The coach cut his ass and I supported it 100%. Once he got his shit together HE apologized and ended up being a strong contributor to 2 great teams that went deep into the playoffs. Be part of the solution not the problem.
I decided after writing the following that I should preface this with the fact that throughout my high school years I played football, basketball, baseball and competed in track and field. I was also in swing choir, chorus, marching band, pep band, concert band, FFA, one-act play, spring play, musicals, was class president and president of the speech and debate team. Just an indication that I’m writing in familiar territory.
I’ve seen enough of the “if I bashed my boss on twitter” argument to wanna scream. A high school is not a place of business, the coach is not an employer and projecting the “life sucks” mantra onto children isn’t helpful at all. There is a policy in many high schools that states a student will not be targeted for reprimand if he/she has to make a choice to promote the school in one activity over another when he/she is engaged in multiple extracurricular pursuits. Please don’t mistake my meaning here because I do NOT agree with a lawsuit in this case. It’s entirely possible the kid just wasn’t up to par, but acting like a kid has never been unfairly pigeon-holed based on bad high school politics would be naive to say the least. For high school musicals there are usually only 2-3 performances in total per year. High school basketball games normally total 20 to 24 per year if the team does not play deep into any particular tournaments in that given year. We are all aware that some sports coaches can get pretty testy if one of “their” athletes has the audacity to chose one of the few artistic performances that year rather than one of the many sports competitions. The more talented the athlete the angrier the coach. Angry coach, high potential for unfair reprimand. So…is this what happened in this instance? I don’t know and neither do you. What I do know is that we should strive very hard to make sure the system IS as fair as possible and that we absolutely should not punish children for having a desire and ability to participate in multiple extracurricular endeavors. Good school systems will work very hard to ensure that exact freedom for their children while other school systems are not nearly so vigilant. I’m not asking anyone to say this lawsuit is a good thing because it’s clearly not, just please consider that there may be more to discuss than a “whiny kid” or a “life’s not fair, get used to it” point of view.
I must say I can definitely tell who is a liberal and who is conservative from this post. By very definition a conservative is one who “conservatively” upholds the REPUBLIC of America and with it “conservatively” interprets the constitution; However, a liberal “liberally” upholds the republic of America and “liberally” interprets the constitution to make it fit what they think instead of what it actually says. Many people on this thread are choosing to liberally uphold what the 1st amendment states which is “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” And since most of the same people who are saying Mr. Johansons freedom of speech has not been infringed upon because “what he tweeted was stupid” these people are clearly hypocrites. Why? Because they will also say that we cannot have any kind of religious speech (Christian speech) in public school on the basis of separation of church and state (which is found no where in the constitution mind you…look it up:)) so instead they claim on the basis of the first amendment “congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” because schools are government facilitated. So if Christ cannot be mentioned in government funded public schools because it violates your first amendment (which is arguably retarded because talking about God is NOT the establishing a NATIONAL religion in which everyone must worship) then by that very same definition Mr. Johanson is a victim of neglected first amendment freedom by mere advocacy of his personal opinion. As citizens of America we are all promised certain liberty and freedom which cannot be abridged in ANY matter or circumstance by local, state, and federal entities as specified by our Bill of Rights and United States Constitution. As the Declaration of Independence states: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights… A basketball coach, athletic director, principle, boss, senator, and even the president cannot deny, restrict, or penalize you for exercising and expressing these rights regardless of how “stupid” you may think it is… after all you are the liberal Einstein rightfully interpreting our Constitution right????
Sports are a privilege not a right. It’s as simple as that. Not everybody can play and as a college athlete I can attest to this. This kid just needs to grow up
Our coach has a great saying that we hear every year at the beginning of baseball season. It is: “parents don’t come and ask me why your son isn’t getting any playing time, because my answer will be, have your son get better and he will play.” Seems to fit pretty well right here.
A disappointing but perfect example of “Helicopter parenting” . As a parent of four kids, all athletes, we know the drill, miss practice….sit out….miss a game….sit out. If you didn’t get that headline…..that’s the way it is……AND…..I don’t think it’s wrong. Make an obligation to a team……that’s your focus. My ultimate question is……will you, mom and dad, forever be suing if your kid doesn’t get his way? Good luck and I hope you are prepared to support your kid forever. 🙂
Congratulations, Amelia. By allowing your son to go forth with the lawsuit, his life is NOW officially ruined. You just made nationwide news with this idiocy. Getting cut from the team for lacking the talent to go splinter-free from riding the bench for so long pales in comparison to the sheltered, ridiculed life he will lead no matter which way the gavel swings on this one. He will become considerably more depressed than he is now. Let me give you a lesson in parenting since you and your husband suck at it so badly, ok?
My daughter tried out for competitive league softball, where they only select the best players from the recreational league she played in. She tried out three separate times, and never made that team. She asked me “Dad, why won’t they let me play? Why can’t I make the team?” I told her “Because in their eyes, you are not good enough. You gave it a shot, and sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t, that’s life, but at least you gave it a shot and that’s what matters most. I’m proud of you.” I also told her “Don’t worry about there’s better things in life to be good at.” To this day she said that’s probably some of the best advice I’ve ever given her.
This train wreck of a life decision you made for your son is a perfect example of what happens when they stop to keep score at children’s games for Soccer, baseball, etc. Yay! Everybody wins! Everyone gets a trophy! (Starts slow, sarcastic clap.) ~ Scott from California
@brumzy – wait, what testicles?
Mommy appears to be a big part of the problem. When he gets a job, I guess she will want the boss to include in the performance review. I actually had a parent demand this. His 25 year old doesn’t work for us anymore.
Look up the term helicopter parent. It is not a compliment.
“Congratulations, Amelia. By allowing your son to go forth with the lawsuit, his life is NOW officially ruined. You just made nationwide news with this idiocy. Getting cut from the team for lacking the talent to go splinter-free from riding the bench for so long pales in comparison to the sheltered, ridiculed life he will lead no matter which way the gavel swings on this one.”
Yep – you know that employers now do web background checks as well as criminal checks? Think a prospective employer will care about sonny’s “rights”. I wouldn’t want him anywhere near my business.
My question is, if he’s now a Sophomore at UNC, then why is this coming to fruition now, nearly 2 years later?….
This kid and parents need to both GROW UP! What a bunch of crap! BOO HOO, your kid didn’t get play time because he wasn’t a good player! A player needs to EARN their spot and yes, your actions are not above reprimand! If you tweeted crap about your job, do you think you can hide behind the 1st amendment? My guess is your sorry little behind would be fired! There is also this little thing called a Code of Conduct! Spend the money on teaching your kid that! Or how about you teach your kid there are consequences for THEIR behavior and you don’t go run off and sue others! This is so disturbing! I hope you get laughed out of court and are forced to pay all court costs for wasting their time! Way to teach your child ENTITLEMENT!
So Amelia, how did all that self esteem stuff work out? Are you going to follow your kid around, for the rest of his life, suing every company he thinks is not treating him fairly?
I honestly dont know what to say about these parents. High school sports are not fair, never have been, never will be. If Daddy is a coach or served on the school board.. kiddo is on the team and plays more. That is reality 101.. Life is not fair.. get used to it!
As for the social media comments, most schools have a policy about social media and most likely, he wont win on that account in spite of the fact his comments did not hurt the school or its reputation as most high school sports team are run exactly the same way. Kiddo needs to accept that he wont get everything he wants in this life, sometimes, in spite of best efforts, we lose. It can be a job or a position on a sports team, that we all lose at one time or another in life. The kids needs to accept that and learn to move ahead in spite of what he feels he is entitled to.
The real problem with most kids these days are parents who think their child is the best and deserves everything. Wake up parents, that is just no reality! I think the parents are teaching him if you don’t get your way, you sue and there is always a slimy attorney who will take the case for MONEY.
So kiddo.. move on.. we all don’t get a free ride in this life. Apparently your mommy and daddy had enough money to send your precious butt to college.. thee are kids from single family homes who don’t get any breaks in life and guess what, they dont expect to. They learn early you must work hard for everything you get and you can still lose it all to an injury or illness or plain unfair people in the world, but you pick yourself up and keep fighting to move forward. Some of us have no one to sue or blame. Sometimes we just learn life is not fair, we are not entitled and we survive anyway.
Baby boy was not damaged by lack of play time, he was damaged by parents raising him to believe his “rights” supersede everyone’s. Good luck in the real world.
this is a frivolous lawsuit, the coach has a team and team members must be one with the team and the coach, the kid and his parents have an bias of his “exceptional play” having only the information given the coach is within his rights to bench a player for his reasons…period
Cassandra Zelch– I am an alumni of MHS, and I can tell you with 100% certainty that there are politics and unfair practices everywhere in the world. People need to deal with it. You will not get the job that you are better qualified for, you may get cut or benched on the team. I don’t believe there is any guarantee ever given to a player in competItive sports that they will be given a certain amount of play time. If the school had a code of conduct, his twitter rants were probably considered a violation of this code of conduct. You can say whatever you want, but you also have to deal with the consequences of what you said. News flash…this is life. The sooner you and others who have this feeling of entitlement learn this lesson, the better you will do in life. This is a life lesson that he and his parents need to learn. Rather than perpetuating these delusions, his parents need to teach him how to not make a similar mistake in life. Is he going due everyone throughout his life who throws a roadblock in his way? Move on and grow up. ( that goes for his parents too!)
When their oldest son was in high school he was a QB. When he was a senior, he was in constant competition with a junior for the staring position. Mrs. Johanson would call the football coach and tell him that Noah would have to play/start because she had college coaches coming to watch him.
Not everyone gets the lead in the school play. The kids in the chorus still made it in when many did not. I bet there were boys who didn’t make it onto the varsity team who were jealous of this precious little snowflake’s spot on the bench. I cannot imagine why he thought being so disrespectful to his teammates and coaches would have no consequences, and I can’t believe his parents are supporting disrespect.
Maybe he would feel better if he cried about it? In unrelated news, I ate some McDonalds and it made my stomach hurt. The logical thing to do in this situation is sue. Also, the sun is shining too brightly, maybe I can sue it as well?
Sorry mom. A lawsuit is public knowledge. When you have a ridiculous lawsuit, it will receive harsh words or criticism. Want the harsh words to stop? Drop the lawsuit. You are the problem.
We are looking at filing a suit regarding my son being cut as a senior from his varsity team. He was cut because he told the coach he might have conflicts with another school activity, in which many fall athletes participate with no issue, including some who are state level in both a fall sport and the other activity (which is mainly fall as well). This was after uniform numbers were assigned and uniforms given out, and on the basis of an email that said my son might have conflicts with some game times and the other activity.
The problem in both these cases – the subject of the article and my son – is that at NO POINT (and I am assuming this for the article) were any written or even verbal rules conveyed about being cut after being on the team after last cuts were done, especially unilaterally without giving the player a fair hearing. My son talked to the coach about two pre-season conflicts, and the coach had no problem with him missing two pre-season games as of Monday. As of Friday, after the email about possible other conflicts, he was cut before practice. He was told to contact the AD about it, and he has, and I did as well.
Coaches, and especially public HS coaches, have a responsibility to follow the rules. In this case, if the coach did NOT convey the rules about behavior outside the school to the team, him cutting the player without due process, after he was on the team, is not fair and does violate the player’s rights. In my son’s case, my son was not told on Monday that if he missed the two pre-season games, he would be cut. And he was not told on Friday “you have to get rid of those conflicts or you will be cut, let me know as soon as you find out if that is possible”.
He was just cut. The AD and the principal are involved, and they both agree that no one should be punished for having conflicts with a fall sport, and as this gentleman’s mother said, “the punishment did NOT fit the crime” if there even was a “crime”.
For those who are like “suck it up”, remember that HS sports are a captive audience. My son can change his club soccer team. Heck, even in college he can transfer to another college – and many players do. But this is a public high school, so there is a burden to be fair to students as much as possible. Cutting a player already on a public high school sports team for reasons not outlined prior to the season, without due process, goes against the purpose of education.
Momma’s boy. He needs to grow up, quit stomping his feet, and holding his breath because he does not like the results of his preformance and actions.
This frivolous lawsuit is not only going to ostracize this family from the community, but will likely impact their son’s ability to get hired. Employers often Google someone’s name to learn more about them. They will be less likely to hire someone with a propensity to sue when they don’t get their way. Once it’s on the internet, it will follow him wherever he goes.
Dear Mrs. Chase,
Imagine how the public views your son now that some of his peers in Bay Village have chosen to carpet-bomb an autistic child with human waste.
The suffering for such claims of “privilege” may start to inspire more than just derision in our fellow citizens with poor impulse control.
Get. A. Fucking. Clue.
Have a lovely day,
Madeline
Chase’s mom wears army boots
Mike and Amelia Johanson, you are a braveheart. Do what you think is right for your son and your family. Sorry to hear about the battle with cancer. Good luck.
It’s impressive the number of intelligent, well thought out responses there are here. (Cough, sarcasm, sarcasm)
How about this? Being that we don’t actually have the information necessary or experience in the situation about which the suit is filed, we let the litigation take place and the justice system perform it’s function.
It’s great that you may have an opinion, but berating someone, and in this case an entire family, because you don’t like what they’re doing when you can only assume you know why and can’t possibly actually understand why they are doing it is as asinine as much of the commentary.
There is a system in place for a reason. (Generally, because the jury in the court of public opinion couldn’t care less about procedure, evidence, or fact. The commentary here can attest to that.)
Personal judgements are best reserved for after an official finding.
Count 1: Getting kicked off the team caused your son “humiliation and embarrassment”? Welcome to life. It’s hard. You don’t always get what you want. Suck it up. You’ve just caused your entire family 100 lifetimes of embarrassment for suing over something so dumb.
Count 2: Deprived him of the highest level to achieve? You got cut from a highschool basketball team… I’m pretty sure he’s not Michael Jordan so take up a different sport. Actually, you may be on to something – I’m going to try out for the Green Bay Packers offensive line, and when they cut me, I’m going to sue them because they denied me of an opportunity to achieve at the highest level.
Count 3: Maybe your kid should have thought twice about posting to twitter. Maybe he would have played more if he supported the team in a positive manner?
Is $75,000 really going to make this better? If its causing your family financial stress by going through this, is it really worth doing? Is money going to heal your son’s INCREDIBLY deep wounds? No.
If I were you, I would have slapped my kid upside the head and told him to man up and grow a pair of balls – then I would have done the same to myself.
Ask Sterling and the Kent State wrestler about your free speech.
Ms. Johanson, I’m sorry for your loss my family lost 4 members,(uncles, aunts & father) in 4 years to cancer. But trying to justify your son’s actions and comments for not playing for your family’s loss is excuse me “Ridiculous”. In his junior year, my son watched his grandfather (my dad) walk into the stadium on Thursday to watch him play baseball and by Sunday morning, he was reduced to a wheelchair because the over 4″ x 6″ tumor on his T2 & T3 vertebrae had squeezed his spinal chord to incapacitate him and then watched him pass away less than 6 months later to the small cell cancer inside his body. Did he whine, bitch, gripe, take to social media to belittle his team and coaches. NO, he worked even harder and got better and went on to play in college. Your son obvisouly wasn’t as good as your husband thought he was earlier in his childhood, because if he was like some of the others suggested, he’d been palying AAU or some other form of travel basketball where he would have gotten noticed and probably a lot quicker. QUIT trying to blame someone else for his shortcomings. Michael Jordan was cut from his varsity team and lets see did he quit and whine? HELL NO, he worked harder and is now probably the most recognized and definetly one of the richest athletes out there. Your son, I understand venting his frustrations, but made a mistake taking it to social media and hitting the send button because once its out there, it’s there for the world to see and read. The world has to realize you have reactions and consquences to your actions. Have I ever got so upset wanting to belittle or publicy trash someone or something, YES, but I just looked at the screen and thought now what will happen next? Suggestion TYPE IT OUT, THINK ABOUT IT, THEN HIT “DELETE”. I’m sorry for your pain and your illness and I know all of this is not helping your mental and physical status and for that reason in itself, if he loves you, he wouldn’t want this added stress to you or your body. Ms. Johanson, my prayers are with you to overcome the cancer, pain and illness that you have and MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND EASE YOUR SUFFERING. Have a blessed day.
–To the person who critized the coaches and whom ever else for “monitoring” kids social media accounts; I’m sure it was probably reported to the coach or whoever by one of the othr players or students. I coach High School baseball and I don’t even know what social media my player are on except for the ones who sent me freind request. COACHES DON”T GO LOOKING OR STALKING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THEIR PLAYERS.
I understand that he wants to play but I feel a coach has to set rules for there players to follow and I felt he over did it by tweeting about it. He mad the situation worst than it already was.
I’ve always thought I should be Dictator for life here in America….. Things would be so much better for everybody I like. Maybe I can sue for the position.
To those of you saying there are no politics and the best players play, and if the kid was better, he would have played more…please note that the coach was LOSING.
If your starters aren’t getting the job done, then maybe you have the wrong kids on the bench. Maybe you’re not fielding your best players. Maybe there is something else driving your decision making. Maybe other invested stakeholders (like parents and backup players) would like to know more about your decision making process.
If you are LOSING, it’s reasonable for other stakeholders to question your decisions regarding playing time. If you are LOSING, you should expect criticism.
What’s not reasonable is to wield your authority like a sword when you can’t handle the questions from other stakeholders.
Just like being a player is a bitch, being a coach is a bitch.
When you LOSE, you open yourself up to criticism. And if you are not approachable in person, you may end up reading about it on a Twitter.
Coaches are not infallible or beyond reproach. It’s reasonable for members of their TEAM to hold them accountable. You can’t lead unless people are willing to follow.
Kids deserve the right to be treated fairly and to make or not make teams and get playing time based on their talent. I am tired or arbitrary rules being made up by high school coaches to exclude or punish kids that they don’t like, who are extremely talented. Schools have an obligation to help talented kids get recruited, thus giving the best kids playing time. If the school can honestly say this kids was not that good, and other players were much better than he was then ok. But I’ll bet that what this boy is saying is right on. It’s the case of a slimy high school coach throwing around his power and punishing this kid, unfairly. Coaches should not have this power over our kids. I hope this family wins every penny it is going for…and most of all hope this school learns a lesson, that they can’t treat kids this way.
Just another sad case of parents not letting their kids deal with life. They should have told him from Kdg. that life isn’t fair and never will be. I agree that he should not have been punished for missing a game due to a school conflict. It happens a lot. As a coach I have to be understanding enough to handle this. Making the coach do an apology was correct and the coach should have been told this should not happen again.
As for the rest of it, deal with it kid and parents and move on. As the others stated there are other avenues to get your soon noticed so he can fulfill his demented dream of playing in college.
The same thing has happened to my daughter TODAY and will most likely ruin any chance of her getting to play college soccer. I am going to be watching this case very closely. Lord forbid an athlete talk about their sport or coach to another teammate on social media. Talk about violating their freedom of speech!
I don’t know what happened in this case, but I have seen time and time again that we need statistics taken of each game in all sports, and the how many minutes of playtime each player got in comparison to what they contributed. This would be a shocking revelation for those who think things are fair, as often the leading scorers and passers are benched while others play the whole game and contributed virtually nothing, with no skills, in the hope that giving them playtime will be key to their success (and lack of it to the failure of much better players). I have seen many talented kids screwed by denying them playtime while others who had no talent got to play the whole game from early on, often due to the payments they made to the coach’s outside club where players were strongly encouraged to attend (pay). Some of these kids – who didn’t even get picked for varsity junior year – miraculously got to play in the 15 th inning in overtime, and overcame all obstacles by winning the state championship games despite extremely limited opportunity – those kids are heroes, but the others never get the chance – sad to see our quarterback was not recognized till senior year – change in coach and finally got to play, now a huge success.
The people on here disrespecting this kid and his family for sticking up for what they believe is the right thing is a joke. I have seen it first hand in high school sports kids not getting fair playing time because their coach had a personal problem with them. When these people get in positions of power over kids they need to be held accountable for their actions. Booster club members, coaches kids and administrators kids are not the only talented kids out their.( ITS CALLED DADDY BALL). Without knowing all the facts it’s hard to say if this kid was treated fairly or not .
Curious what points per game he did average and rebounds plus assists before the loss of playing time. Was he a good defensive player? Did he rebound well? Could he shoot the 3? Could he dunk a basketball. Did he have a team attitude? How tall is he? All things a coach would look at in a player.
Coaches would look at the things I mentioned above plus a good attitude. One would think if a player makes the team the first 2 years he would make the team the last 2 if it is the same team.
Some of these parents suck!! A student has fair rights to equal treatment. He was clearly retaliated against !
My daughter and several players are going thru a retaliation case and the coach is a nasty person. Blatant is the coach and blatantly shows Favoritism and thinks she will get away with it because the school is not being accountable for her nasty actions. They hired her on the good ol boy system and has 1 season back in 2000 and was a freshman coach. She is now at my daughters school as the head varsity coach and somehow beat out 3 other coaches with winning records and excellent history of being fair. These coaches have been coaching in current schools and have far more experience.
They already fired a coach last year for blatant favoritism and mental stress on kids!
The other coaches are not deeply rooted in our town so here she is coaching. She is not a person with integrity and makes promises to parents and lies to the kids. She held private practices after practice for 2 of her favorites!! Not ok! #lawsuit dipshit coach