THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, January 25, 1997 TAG: 9701250304
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: 85 lines
A Superior Court judge has upheld the suspensions from school sports of two popular Currituck County High School athletes convicted of assaulting another student.
Judge J. Richard Parker, issuing his opinion after 30 minutes of deliberation, said that the students' right to due process had not been violated and that the action of the principal did not necessarily result in irreparable damage to the athletes.
He then denied the students' request for an injunction.
Ken Simmons and Anthony Tymul, both seniors, had filed a complaint against the county Board of Education and had sought an injunction that would have enabled them to continue playing sports and participating in clubs this winter.
Both have said that college athletic scholarships may be jeopardized if they cannot compete this year.
School policy says high school athletes may be suspended from sports and other activities if they admit to, or are found guilty of, assault.
Simmons and Tymul, along with a third student, were suspended from all extracurricular activities for 90 days following convictions last November for beating a fellow student at an off-campus party.
The convictions were immediately appealed, but the students' attorney says it's unlikely the case will be heard before spring.
``Whether the boys' (case) will be reached in Superior Court during this school year, I don't know. But it's not looking very hopeful,'' Michael Sanders said, noting that he's been ready to try the appeal since it was filed last fall.
Sanders had hoped to convince Judge Parker that Simmons and Tymul had been denied their constitutional right to due process during the school investigation that led to their suspensions.
The students were never formally asked to respond to the assault allegations during an in-school investigation, Sanders contended.
The Board of Education's attorney, Ken Soo of Raleigh, argued that school officials did not violate anyone's rights and that therefore, the suspensions should stand.
``It was a tough decision for them. It was not one that they entered into lightly,'' Soo said during closing arguments.
Currituck County High School Athletic Director Tom Davies testified that his inquiry included interviews with five students who witnessed the beating of Sandy Grymes, 16, at a house party in Powells Point on Oct. 5.
Davies said all five studentssupported Simmons' and Tymul's claim that they were not involved in the attack that led Grymes and his father to seek arrest warrants two days later.
Simmons, 17, was described as a star athlete being eyed by college recruiters. Tymul, 17, was among the school's best wrestlers and a starter for the football team.
Only one other student among six arrested in the assault has been convicted. Senior Jeffrey Faison already had been accepted by a college when he was found guilty in November. Charges against two others were dismissed, and one has yet to be tried.
Football coach Donnie Simpson testified on Friday that the day before the beating, he had lectured the team on acting responsibly off-campus. The talk came in the wake of another player's dismissal from the team for a similar offense.
``I've known them a long time,'' Simpson said, referring to Simmons and Tymul. ``And I was surprised that something like this happened.''
The decision to suspend the athletes ultimately was made by Principal David B. Sutton, who also testified during the 2 1/2-hour hearing.
Sutton said he spoke with about 20 student witnesses about the weekend incident, most of whom said they did not see the athletes take part in the assault.
But three anonymous students who watched the attack were more convincing, Sutton said, because their independent stories supported one another.
The district court judge who found the teen-agers guilty also had said his decision was influenced by two other students who reluctantly testified that they'd overheard the athletes boasting about the beating in an English class.
At least one student told Sutton that the football players had been involved in two other assaults that evening. The principal said that also played a part in his decision.
Sutton also said the school's reputation was being defended when he handed down the suspensions, which were supported by Superintendent Ronnie Capps and the Board of Education during a closed session in December.
``It's a problem for us, for the image of the school and for the credibility of the sports program,'' Sutton said on Friday.
Soo later added: ``We feel it's very important to uphold these rules. I think that's what the principal was talking about.''