School Board To Hear From Attorneys About Attack on Basketball Player

OOLTEWAH, TN (WDEF-TV) – The Hamilton County school board is scheduled to hold an emergency closed-door session.
It will be held Wednesday afternoon to review the criminal charges against three Ooltewah High School basketball players involved in the rape of fellow player before Christmas.
The three players have been suspended.
But the board announced Monday it will also hold a public meeting to consider action regarding that incident.

RHONDA THURMOND, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER "To call it hazing is just ridiculous. This is just absolute a criminal act."

School board member Rhonda Thurmond is responding social media describing the rape and criminal assault of an Ooltewah freshman basketball player in Sevier County.
She is anxious to get to the Wednesday meeting when more details are expected.
The three juvenile players are off the team and facing felony charges. And they may be tried as adults. The attack occurred at a vacation cabin where they team stayed while playing in a tournament.
Chattanooga Attorney Curtis Bowe issued a statement over the weekend on behalf of Ooltewah High basketball coach Andre Montgomery.
He agrees with Thurmond about not using buzz words like "hazing" or "bully", but he warns against criticizing coaches and staff.

Bowe wrote:
"Our community does not and should not condone ascribing blame for someone else’s conduct. …yet, that is what most commenting have done. Everyone needs to stop….this act by three individuals against one of their own is inconsistent with what Coach Montgomery knows of them – in the classroom and in the athletic arena."

Thurmond thinks the athletic department should have brought the players home immediately instead of playing another tournament game the next day.

RHONDA THURMOND, SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER "I figured that they had gotten into a bar-room brawl and somebody had beat somebody half to death with a pool cue..that’s what I thought initially..that, even that in my opinion would have been enough to send everybody home."

According to reports from Sevier County, the 15 year old victim will require months of rehabilitation to recover from his injuries.

RHONDA THURMOND "You know this has happened in my school system on my watch and I take it personal."

Hamilton County District Attorney General Neal Pinkston released a Monday morning statement saying he and the Sheriff’s Office will investigate complaints aired on social media that there have been previous incidents of bullying and hazing at Ooltewah High School.