Special Treatment for High School Football Star?
By David Ovalle, The Miami Herald
Feb. 10–In 2005, Northwestern High running back Antwain Easterling was quietly arrested for having a knife on school grounds.
The school suspended him and recommended expulsion, allowing him to return only after meeting academic and behavioral goals.
But when Easterling, 19, was charged in December for having sex with a 14-year-old girl in a school bathroom, he was neither suspended, expelled nor sent to an alternative school as Miami-Dade school policy recommends, according to records obtained by The Miami Herald.
The day after its star athlete posted bail, the school’s only response was to hold a conference with his parents, records show. A day later, Easterling rushed for 157 yards and led Northwestern High to a state football title.
The lack of discipline — and the ongoing criminal investigation into why administrators failed to report the alleged sexual misconduct to police — adds to claims by critics that Northwestern gave Easterling special treatment for the sake of football.
“The priorities here are a little mixed up,” Miami-Dade School Board member Ana Rivas Logan said. “Our priorities should be children’s safety first.”
A Miami-Dade schools schools spokesman declined to talk about Easterling’s discipline history because of student confidentiality laws.
Said spokesman Felipe Noguera: “In a general sense, each situation is decided on a case-by-case basis.”
“For example, a child already in an alternative school could be arrested on a felony charge and that would require a different approach than if the child was in a traditional high school,” he said.
Easterling’s father, Enifel Joseph, said his son didn’t deserve to be arrested — or suspended. “He didn’t do anything wrong,” he said, adding later: “My children are very respectful people.”
Easterling was arrested Dec. 7 after Miami police say he confessed to having sex with the girl in the school bathroom after a game in September.
Charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a minor, Easterling has since entered a 26-week pretrial program for youthful defendants. His juvenile arrest record has no bearing on his entry into the program, the state attorney’s office said.
The program includes counseling and therapy on relationship issues and social skills, with a heavy emphasis on accepting responsibility. If Easterling completes the program, he will not have a conviction on his record.
It was not his first arrest for an incident on school grounds. On Feb. 7, 2005, Easterling was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon at school, records show.
Under school district policy, that offense qualified as a “Group V” violation. The punishment: a student should be suspended and expelled, although he can come back after completing certain academic and behavioral requirements known as a “workback.”
His father Tuesday acknowledged his son was suspended in February 2005 for being caught with a knife. He was sent “to another school” before returning to Northwestern, Joseph said.
The outcome of the case is not public record because at the time of his arrest Easterling was not an adult.
Easterling’s 2005 suspension occurred on the watch of the administration of former Principal Steve Gallon III.
The December arrest would appear to fall under the schools’ “sexual battery” category of the more serious “Group VI” student conduct violations, which includes “penetration.”
The only sex violation in the lesser Group V category is listed as “an offense against chastity or common decency.”
Because of the privacy laws, schools spokesman Noguera would not say under which category Easterling’s arrest may have fallen.
Last month, family members told The Miami Herald they met with Principal Dwight Bernard to lobby him to allow Easterling to play in the 6A state title game at Dolphin Stadium.
In an interview last month, Superintendent Rudy Crew said he did not have enough information about the alleged crime to make a decision on suspending Easterling. He learned of the arrest on Dec. 8, the day after Easterling was charged.
However, arrest forms detailing Easterling’s confession were available at Miami police’s public information office the night of the arrest.
Last year, three Miami Springs High baseball players were suspended from school after allegedly using gang signs in a team photo. Investigators found the allegation baseless.
And an offensive tackle from Northwestern’s opponent in the December championship game, Lake Brantley High in Lake Altamonte Springs, was suspended for the entire playoffs for “minor” school infractions.
“It’s a different world . . . Our county [Seminole] is totally different. I don’t think you can compare it apples to apples,” coach George Clayton said.
He added: “I feel bad for [Coach Roland Smith's] kids who were kind of put in a bad situation that took away from what they did all year long.”
Northwestern has been mired in controversy since Easterling’s December arrest.
A Miami-Dade schools police investigation found that school administrators, including Principal Bernard, learned of the allegation in October but never called police. In mid-December, a school district attorney halted a schools police department investigation because she said she believed it would duplicate a similar administrative review by Principal Bernard.
The attorney, Ronda A. Vangates, later blamed it on miscommunication. She stressed police never told her it was a criminal probe.
The schools police department has turned over the investigation to Miami police.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office public corruption unit is overseeing the investigation into whether school officials failed to report a crime. No charges have been filed.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Easterling signed a national letter of intent to play football at Southern Mississippi.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Miami Herald
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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