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PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE Thursday, January 15, 1998 Parents concerned about daughters' safety LA MARQUE, Texas (AP) -- Some parents of La Marque Middle School basketball players are having second thoughts about letting their daughters play this weekend in Santa Fe, where team members were threatened with racial slurs and a rope last month. On Dec. 18, La Marque's eighth grade girls' basketball team went to nearby Santa Fe Middle School for a game. As the girls were boarding the bus, four people made racial threats and made a threatening gesture with a rope, said Melissa Mattes, spokeswoman for the La Marque Independent School District. The school district's chief of police, whose daughter is on the La Marque team, confronted the people making the threats and was assaulted. Four people, two minors and two adults, were arrested, said Santa Fe Police Chief Dwight Puckett. The adults were charged with assault, Puckett said. The two juveniles, students in the Santa Fe school district, were not charged. This weekend, Santa Fe hosts a basketball tournament. La Marque is not scheduled to play Santa Fe. Parents met with La Marque Principal Lawrence Guillory on Monday evening to discuss their concerns. "He's asked us to support their decision to let the girls play in the tournament and to not be bitter," parent De Lon Lockette said. "But we can't help but be bitter because our daughters were violated, and we can't explain to them why that happened and why no one was reprimanded." It wasn't immediately clear Wednesday if any of the team members would be forbidden by parents from playing at Santa Fe. Ms. Mattes said two uniformed school district police officers would accompany the team to the tournament. Santa Fe Superintendent Richard Ownby said Santa Fe will also have an off duty police officer at the tournament, although he doesn't think there will be any trouble. "It's unfortunate," Ownby said Wednesday of the incident. "I just don't believe it's reflective of the majority of this community." Santa Fe and La Marque are about 35 miles southeast of Houston. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below: texnews.com Reporter OnLine Local Sports Texas Sports Copyright ©1998, Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications Send the URL (Address) of This Story to A Friend: Enter their email address below:

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