Texas Principal puts kids in Cage Match

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**Frazzled**

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,509798,00.html
I am saddened that in this great, civilized state, this opportunity for the PTA to sell tickets was wasted, just wasted. Won't anyone think of the children?!?

Texas High School Staged Cage Fights Between Students, Documents Say
Thursday, March 19, 2009

Print ShareThisA Texas high school used cage fights to settle disputes among problem students, internal investigation documents obtained by The Dallas Morning News allege.

The principal and other staff at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas repeatedly put students in a steel utility cage located in a section of the boys basketball locker room to battle it out — with their bare fists and without head protection, the documents show.

A 2008 investigation within the Dallas school district's Office of Professional Responsibility found that then-principal Donald Moten and other school officials "knew of the practice, allowed it to go on for a time, and failed to report it."

The cage fights happened between 2003 and 2005, according to the district's report.

In one case, a school hall monitor tried to battle a student in the cage. In that instance, Moten broke up the fight, according to the investigation.

But in a separate incident, Moten allegedly told security staff to put two teens who were already fighting with each other in the cage to "let'em duke it out," according to the News.

Contacted by the paper on Wednesday, the former principal denied having knowledge of any cage fighting in the school when he was in charge of it.

"I don't even know what you're talking about," Moten told the News. "That's barbaric. You can't do that at a high school. You can't do that anywhere."

But one middle school counselor, who was fired from his job at South Oak Cliff High and has filed a whistleblower lawsuit, tells a different story.

"It was gladiator-style entertainment for the staff," said Frank Hammond. "They were taking these boys downstairs to fight. And it was sanctioned by the principal and security."

Charges were never brought against Moten or the hall monitors accused of setting up the fights, despite investigators' saying the staff's conduct, "may constitute a criminal violation," The Dallas Morning News reported.

Many of the staff named are still employed at the school, according to the newspaper.

It wasn't clear why the district never pursued criminal charges and the Dallas County district attorney's office said she wouldn't confirm or deny whether a case was ever filed.

The cage fighting was uncovered during an investigation into grade-changing for student athletes that ended up costing the school their 2006 boys state basketball championship, the News said.

Moten resigned in 2008 after the grade-changing investigation ended.

**mcfly**

I wish that they would have videotaped it...battle royale on youtube! And Frank is a bit whiney, and he's a rat.

**dietrich**

The First Rule of Cage-Fight High is that you can't talk about Cage-Fight High.

It doesn't speak well to the administration that this is coming out 4-6 years after it happened, and not sooner. Shows how good a grasp they have on what is happening.

On one hand, I'm a little appalled. On the other, it makes a lot of sense.

**malfred**

Ugh.

Maybe this is my bleeding heart seeping through, but it makes sense only in that
Vick Mackie setting up drug dealers to fight each other kind of way. It might solve
the immediate problem of violence or disorder in the school, but it degrades individuals
who, once they see they're in a cage, see no other option but to fight. I don't know
what the answer to generational poverty and violence is, but locking teens in a cage
together so that it's fight or suffer doesn't seem like the right answer.

**warpcrafter**

How did they think this would never be made public?

**malfred**

warpcrafter wrote:How did they think this would never be made public?

I've heard rumors of things happening in some places where athletic students are
beat physically by coaches or in Code Red violation style punishments. These kids
want to belong, and since the violence is part of the ritual of belonging, they endure
the abuse.

I could be talking out my bum, though. I've had a rather sheltered life.

**Kilkrazy**

malfred wrote:
warpcrafter wrote:How did they think this would never be made public?

I've heard rumors of things happening in some places where athletic students are
beat physically by coaches or in Code Red violation style punishments. These kids
want to belong, and since the violence is part of the ritual of belonging, they endure
the abuse.

I could be talking out my bum, though. I've had a rather sheltered life.

It's well established through research that physical and mental abuse of children biases them to become abusive as adults.

**God Of Yams**

I have a group of friends at school, and whenever we get in a group argument, someone will eventually yell "CAGE MATCH!" so my first reaction to this normally sad article was to e-mail it to all of them with the subject CAGE MATCH

**usernamesareannoying**

two kids enter....one kid leaves!

**Ultrafool**

sounds like that high school is a bit orky

**Bunker**

And the winner of "Best Principal Ever" goes to...

**Gitkikka**

No surprise here - that happened in Oak Cliff. There, a controlled Thunderdome match would be better than the weapons that would certainly come out otherwise. Mighty damn rough part of Dallas.

**poptarticus**

This is appalling. My mother and father are retired educators and my sister is currently an educator, this tarnishes their image even if it was not in the same state.

I agree with malfred, the Code Red and the sense to belong is overwhelming to a 14 or 15 year old kid.

I was a football player (american) and wrestler in high school and I can identify with keeping your mouth shut in fear of something worse happening to you for blabbing.

**whatwhat**

poptarticus wrote:educator

This is a term for teacher nowadays?

nextman teacher wrote:I am the EDUCATOR!

**malfred**

Educatamator.

Or in some schools (apparently)

Educatamatador.

**KingCracker**

Yea I thought Ork kulture as soon as I read that

Honestly tho thats pretty messed up. The only thing that would teach a child is that if your REALLy good at beating the piss out of people, then you can do whatever you want because you are good at beating others up.

**Ultrafool**

Gitkikka wrote:No surprise here - that happened in Oak Cliff. There, a controlled Thunderdome match would be better than the weapons that would certainly come out otherwise. Mighty damn rough part of Dallas.

I heared about that when i lived in oak cliff. Man that city was horrible