Bully "joke" prompts lawsuit

At Milford High School outside Cincinnati, a boy on the freshman basketball team says he was harassed mercilessly by 3 teammates.

According to witnesses, the victim was punched, and one of the aggressors tried to sexually assault him. Because of this ongoing abuse, the victim quit the team.

The assailants said the whole attack was just a "joke." Well, I don't see anyone laughing. Sexual assault isn't exactly the stuff of guffaws.

One of the assailants reportedly harassed at least 4 players throughout the season. He allegedly forced teammates to lick his sweaty ankle bracelet.

The situation was so out of hand that police got involved.

And now the 14-year-old victim is filing a lawsuit against the Milford school system and the main assailant.

The lawsuit is considered significant because it may establish how far schools have to go to protect their students. It doesn't mean the school itself is guilty of any wrongdoing. This suit will simply determine if the school did anything wrong.

It's a fact though that many schools condone student bullying outright. The laws have to come down hard on schools that encourage or fail to intervene against serial harassers.

(Source: http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080606/NEWS01/306050089;
http://www.kypost.com/content/wcposhared/story.aspx?content_id=d3e2087c-1913-40c6-906b-490729e44a29)