Student says teacher harassed him for wearing Broncos Jersey

[displacedpatsfan]

There are no quotes from the teacher or other students in the class:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06024/643226.stm

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

By Tim Grant, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Joshua Vannoy, 17, wears his Denver Broncos jersey outside of his home in Big Beaver. Joshua wore the jersey to school on Friday and said he was harassed by his teacher, John Kelly, in an Ethics Relations class at Big Beaver Falls Area Senior High School. Joshua says he's not a big Broncos fan, just a huge fan of John Elway, whose jersey he is wearing.
Click photo for larger image.

When Joshua Vannoy decided to wear a Denver Broncos jersey Friday, he knew there would be some joking from diehard Steelers fans at Big Beaver Falls Area Senior High School.

But he never expected to feel humiliated by his teacher during a mid-term examination and become so shaken up that he could not finish his test.

"I feel awful, like I was dehumanized," said Joshua, 17, a junior and self-described honor student.

He's made a complaint to the principal against John Kelly, who teaches an honors class on ethnic relations, saying the teacher made him sit on the floor to take his test and instructed other classmates to pelt him with balled up sheets of notebook paper.

Donna Nugent, superintendent of Big Beaver Falls Area School District, said she is investigating.

"We're not making light of this at all," Dr. Nugent said.

Mr. Kelly had little to say on the subject yesterday.

"We won the game [Sunday] night, didn't we?" he said. "That's all I was worried about."

School Principal Thomas Karczewski said what happened was "intended as a joke" and that the matter was "getting out of hand."

Joshua said his feelings were hurt, his nerves shattered and Mr. Kelly's reaction to his John Elway No. 7 jersey was anything but humorous.

"He had a dead serious face," said Joshua. "He never laughed at all."

He said when he went to sit down at his regular desk on Friday, Mr. Kelly ordered him to "take those books off my desk. I own that desk." He placed his textbooks on the floor and then sat down at the desk.

Joshua said his teacher told him to "get out of my desk. You're sitting in my desk."

He said Mr. Kelly began sliding the desks into a circle. Then he told Joshua to sit on the floor in the center of the circle.

While Mr. Kelly passed out the tests, he dropped Joshua's test papers, scattering them on the floor so that he had to crawl around and pick them up, Joshua said.

"As I started to write my name on the papers and number them, I noticed he went to the cupboard and grabbed a handful of notebook paper and handed it to all the kids and said, 'This is part two of your test. You'll get points for this. Take the paper and ball it up with two hands and throw it at the Denver fan,' " Joshua said.

Joshua said there were "papers flying everywhere towards me. At one point, a girl refused to do it and he [Mr. Kelly] took the paper off her desk and threw it into the back of my head."

Joshua said he was so furious his hands were shaking and he could hardly concentrate. He said he was lying flat on the carpet trying to answer essay questions about the Israeli Six-Day War and the Cold War while his face burned with shame.

He said he didn't talk back and when the dismissal bell rang, he handed the half-finished test to Mr. Kelly, who "snatched it right out of my hands."

Joshua said he reported the incident to the school principal immediately after a lunch period. He told his parents what happened when he got home.

Mr. Kelly "has never told me not to wear a Denver Broncos jersey in his class," Joshua said. "I probably wouldn't have if I knew it was going to cause this kind of big deal. I just thought it was a shirt."

[oiler]

Thank you for giving this its own place.

[Brainbo]

Joshua said. "I probably wouldn't have if I knew it was going to cause this kind of big deal. I just thought it was a shirt."

Yeah, kid, okay. The fucking mayor (though I admit Big Beaver isn't in the city, not even in the county) declared it Black & Gold day. Just a shirt my ass. This kid was asking for it. (And, broosh, from the other thread, I don't like puppies or kids (other than a select few, including my Valentine), so, yeah, I really don't think this is a big deal.)

[Jerloma]

We decided that this needed it's own thread?

[sancarloskid]

Joshua said. "I probably wouldn't have if I knew it was going to cause this kind of big deal. I just thought it was a shirt."

Yeah, kid, okay. The fucking mayor (though I admit Big Beaver isn't in the city, not even in the county) declared it Black & Gold day. Just a shirt my ass. This kid was asking for it. (And, broosh, from the other thread, I don't like puppies or kids (other than a select few, including my Valentine), so, yeah, I really don't think this is a big deal.)

Wow, Brainbo - your shrill defense of the teacher and attack on the kid here kind of takes away your moral ground when you called the Bronco fans pricks and implied that this story was the manufacture of Denver writers. Just sayin'...

[hdo45331]

If you live in NW Pennsylvania, it is a Federal Law that you be a Steelers fan. Others will be shot on sight.

Get in line, like a good little student.

[Brainbo]

Joshua said. "I probably wouldn't have if I knew it was going to cause this kind of big deal. I just thought it was a shirt."

Yeah, kid, okay. The fucking mayor (though I admit Big Beaver isn't in the city, not even in the county) declared it Black & Gold day. Just a shirt my ass. This kid was asking for it. (And, broosh, from the other thread, I don't like puppies or kids (other than a select few, including my Valentine), so, yeah, I really don't think this is a big deal.)

Wow, Brainbo - your shrill defense of the teacher and attack on the kid here kind of takes away your moral ground when you called the Bronco fans pricks and implied that this story was the manufacture of Denver writers. Just sayin'...

No, I didn't say it was manufactured. I thought it was hilarious my hometown paper -- which covers Beaver County -- gave it such short shrift. Shrill defense? Not really. If it went down as the kid says it went down, think it was highly unprofessional and that the teacher should be disciplined. That said, I don't buy this kid's victimhood, and I certainly don't buy the whole "what, it's just a shirt" tack, either. Sketchy, very sketchy. Are this teacher and the kids who did it pricks? Probably. But so is the kid wearing the Denver shirt, I suspect. (And maybe, in the end, so am I. And I'm completely fine with that.)

Edited to add: And when I called the Denver fans pricks, I was referring to the group in my section who threw beer and various items at Steelers fans every chance they had, attempted to get into fights with any male wearing a Steeler jersey, and telling a certain female Steeler fan that if he had it his way, rip that little Ward jersey off her, stick his dick in her mouth and hope she chokes on his cum. (Is that the correct spelling? I so rarely write it. Anwway . . .) So, I didn't mean to paint with a broad brush. I meant only that those Denver fans were pricks.

[brooshkin]

Like I said on the other thread ... if it was your kid you wouldn't be so condescening of the kid or the situation. Fucking hypocrites.

[Jerloma]

Yeah, kid, okay. The fucking mayor (though I admit Big Beaver isn't in the city, not even in the county) declared it Black & Gold day. Just a shirt my ass. This kid was asking for it. (And, broosh, from the other thread, I don't like puppies or kids (other than a select few, including my Valentine), so, yeah, I really don't think this is a big deal.)

Wow, Brainbo - your shrill defense of the teacher and attack on the kid here kind of takes away your moral ground when you called the Bronco fans pricks and implied that this story was the manufacture of Denver writers. Just sayin'...

No, I didn't say it was manufactured. I thought it was hilarious my hometown paper -- which covers Beaver County -- gave it such short shrift. Shrill defense? Not really. If it went down as the kid says it went down, think it was highly unprofessional and that the teacher should be disciplined. That said, I don't buy this kid's victimhood, and I certainly don't buy the whole "what, it's just a shirt" tack, either. Sketchy, very sketchy. Are this teacher and the kids who did it pricks? Probably. But so is the kid wearing the Denver shirt, I suspect. (And maybe, in the end, so am I. And I'm completely fine with that.)

Exactly!! Fuck everyone!!

I-I-I-I-I-I got a feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeling....

[Thorton_Mellon]

If others students want to harass him then fine, he was probably asking for it; but this teacher should be fired and never allowed near a kid again for singling this kid out and encouraging the other students to pick on him. I hate teachers and coaches that are bullies to the kids they are supposed to be influencing in a positive way. If I was the Bronco kid's father I would unleash the fists of fury on this asshole.

[Brainbo]

Like I said on the other thread ... if it was your kid you wouldn't be so condescening of the kid or the situation. Fucking hypocrites.

How am I a hypocrite? And, just to be clear, I've never feigned virtue or piety, on this or otherwise. I just call it like I see it. I've been a bitch, and I've said so. This kid's being a punk, I suspect. And I called it that way.

[brooshkin]

So when you wear your Black and Gold to the Linc next time you play the Eagles don't fucking cry when you get beer spilled on you and your asses kicked.

You were asking for it.

[zumba]

I think it is clear that the blame for this whole incident lies squarely at the feet of tcwwje.

just my $0.02

any teacher who exploits his position to crucify one of his kids is an asshat, bullying doesn't have to be physical violence. if the kid decides it is a good idea to wear the shirt he can expect abuse, when it comes from his friends and peers its one thing, a little friendly banter from the teacher would be one thing but this sounds extreme.

[Brainbo]

So when you wear your Black and Gold to the Linc next time you play the Eagles don't fucking cry when you get beer spilled on you and your asses kicked.

You were asking for it.

Trust, there won't be any tears. I will, however, call those fans pricks and pussies, because that's what they are. And if I did something like that, I'd deserve to be called a prick and a pussy too. But I most certainly wouldn't run to the newspaper. And I most certainly wouldn't say, "What, it's just a jersey."

My ass kicked? Fuck. Throw a piece of paper at me . . . but my ass kicked? Jeezus.

[Jerloma]

It's real tough to get any type of read on this story unless you knew the context. I can't say for sure but my guess is that the guy was just joking around with the kid and to his surprise the kid actually did it...so he figured he was just going along with it for the goof. If the teacher was a real dick and actually demanded the kid to get on the floor...that's another story.

brooshkin, I'm not gonna lie. I'd be a total hypocrite if this ever happened to my kid. A rational thought probably wouldn't even come close to entering my head. I also wouldn't let her wear a Steelers jersey to school if I didn't think her skin was thick enough for it.