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Wednesday, October 15, 1997
Suspended Palestine players to return in waves
PALESTINE, Texas (AP) -- It took all night, but the Palestine
school board finally decided how to deal with three suspended
football players and eight others who left the team during a parents-led
protest.
The board decided around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday to reinstate the
initial three players on Nov. 1, the four players who voluntarily
left the team on Oct. 25 and the four players whose parents forced
them to leave on Saturday, superintendent Sam Lucia said.
"I'm glad a solution was reached by the board," Lucia
said. "We'll see what the repercussions are from this."
The meeting began at 6 p.m. Monday and lasted 12-1/2 hours.
"We allowed every concern to be aired by parents and students,"
said Lucia, who attended the all-night meeting, then was in his
office Tuesday morning after a brief visit home to change clothes.
"If we're going to do something like this, we've got to listen
to everyone."
The problems began in late September when Larry Williams, Johnny
Anthony and Aaron Johnson were suspended for separate, undisclosed
violations of the team's athletic handbook.
After the district upheld the suspensions, a group of parents
and other supporters protested the decision on Oct. 3 by blocking
two team buses from entering a road that would've taken them to
that night's game at Mabank.
Lee Nixon, Chad Simmons, Derrick Whitaker and A.J. Parish quit
the team during the demonstration. Their suspensions will have
lasted four weeks when they return Oct. 25.
Byron Birdow, Lynn McGruder, Julius Williams and John Reeves
also left the team at that time, but later told the coaches their
parents prevented them from boarding the bus. Their suspensions
will have lasted three weeks.
The initial trio will have been suspended for five weeks when
they return in November.
All will miss Friday night's game against Jacksonville.
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Copyright ©1997,
Abilene Reporter-News / Texnews / E.W. Scripps Publications
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