Football vs English in Kenton, Ohio

It was intended to be a prank: steal a decoy deer, place it on a country road and watch as motorists swerved to avoid it. It ended with two teenagers suffering serious injuries when their car hit the decoy and rolled into a ditch.

This week, Judge Gary McKinley ruled that two of the boys responsible -- both high school football players -- can complete the football season before they serve 60-day sentences at a juvenile detention center. McKinley's ruling has caused a division in this northwest Ohio city.

On one side are those who say allowing a 16-year-old quarterback, and his 17-year-old teammate to play shows that football players get preferential treatment.

On the other are those who say either the boys deserve another chance or that they will stay out of trouble if they're part of the team.

Arch Rodgers, principal of 670-student Kenton High School, summed things up, saying "The worst part is this has drug out so long and the longer it drug out, the more it created friction in the community."

Ordinarily, Scott's Spot would have castigated Judge McKinley for his preferential treatment of sports stars. But, based on the statement of Principal Rodgers, we see no possibility that the boys can get a proper English education at Kenton High, and thus we say "Go Wildcats!"

(In a side note, Scott's Spot investigators discovered that the Kenton School District is giving consideration to teaching Chinese in the elementary schools! We wonder how long that process will get drug out...)