Now... I've seen some bullshit from our school's administration (if any of you remember my rant last year about the 'give 'em shell' ordeal... this is more humiliating -- plus made the KC Star... *smh*

(For You Lazy Shits that won't read it... refer to the 3rd & 6th Paragraph's and everything will make sense)

Ice-cream headache

Lawson players suspended after stealing treats

By SAM MELLINGER

The Kansas City Star


LAWSON, Mo. — It was miserable out here on Monday night, freezing cold with a little bit of precipitation just to make it worse. The concession stand was selling hot chocolate as if it were going out of style.

And, believe it or not, much of the talk was revolving around … ice cream?

Cameron issued a turbo-clock beatdown on Lawson, 52-14 in a Missouri Class 2 quarterfinal. Joseph Kassanavoid, Lawson’s standout quarterback and safety, listened to the first half of this critical playoff game on the radio, at home, suspended for stealing an ice-cream sandwich from the school cafeteria last week.

At halftime, with his team down 52-0, Kassanavoid turned the radio off and tried to think happier thoughts.

“I’m just down on myself,” Kassanavoid said by phone in the third quarter. “I feel like I let the team down. I just feel so horrible.”

Kassanavoid and John Tipton, a two-way starter at receiver and defensive back, both confirmed they were punished for stealing vanilla ice-cream sandwiches — retail price $1.25 — from a school freezer last week.

Seems the boys were waiting on a ride home after football practice last Tuesday when Tipton wandered into the cafeteria for a snack. Several people said it was widely known where the free treats could be had, but, as Kassanavoid said, “they just didn’t get caught.”

Someone turned Kassanavoid and Tipton in, and Friday afternoon, administrators gave them this punishment: an in-school suspension on Monday and out-of-school suspension today.

“When I went to pick him up, I gave them the $1.25,” said Joseph Kassanavoid’s mother, Janet. “My son ate it, so it’s owed to them.”

Since Lawson’s state quarterfinal came Monday, the boys couldn’t play in a highly anticipated playoff game between two 11-0 teams. Cameron was the favorite anyway, but nobody gave Lawson much of a chance as news spread that Tipton and Kassanavoid, a 6-foot-6 strong-armed sophomore, were suspended.

Lefty Todd Hughson started in Kassanavoid’s place and had a night he’d love to quickly forget. He missed on all six of his first-half pass attempts, unless you count the one Cameron’s Jake Bates intercepted and returned 41 yards.

On Cameron’s first play of the ensuing drive, quarterback Drew Newhart found Eric Anderson for a 13-yard score with 25 seconds left in the half. That was touchdown No. 2 for Anderson, No. 5 for Newhart and No. 7 for Cameron, which took a 52-0 lead into halftime.

Cameron’s coaches spent much of the rest of the way monitoring the Houston-Mount Vernon game to see which team they’d face in Saturday’s semifinals.

After the final horn, “Ice Creamgate” was never far from anyone’s mind.

“Bottom line, you want to teach kids discipline,” Cameron coach Eric Thomas said. “You want to make sure they don’t do those kinds of things … Hopefully, none of our kids would ever think of doing something like that. Hopefully, they wouldn’t — I don’t know. But if they did, we’d be in the same situation.”

The whole saga had this small town buzzing all weekend. About two hours before kickoff, at the Arby’s down the road in Excelsior Springs, a girl stood at the counter talking to a Lawson High student.

“Everybody’s been talking about it,” she said. “That (stinks) that you guys lost your quarterback.”

To add some spice to the matter, one of the administrators who decided on the punishment was assistant principal Tammy Dunn, wife of football coach Todd Dunn.

Many of the adults in town — including Coach Dunn — backed the administration’s decision, saying the kids need to be taught discipline. Most of the students, however, had different thoughts.

“It hurts, not only the whole team, but the town,” said Lawson senior Brett Lowe. “They shouldn’t have done it, but (the punishment) was a little rough.”

Coach Dunn said he was proud of Kassanavoid and Tipton for admitting what they’d done and didn’t blame any part of the loss on his two standouts’ absence.

“I’ll stand by our school administration all the way,” Dunn said. “If our kids do something wrong, I expect them to be punished … That’s the way we are here at Lawson High School, and that’s one reason I’m proud to be here.”

Kassanavoid took the suspension pretty hard at first, contemplating sitting out the upcoming basketball season or even moving. He’s upset and still thinks the punishment may be a bit harsh.

But after a weekend of stewing, he’s contrite. He’s ready to put it behind him.

“Instead of breaking down,” he said, “I’m going to come back even stronger.”

Janet Kassanavoid wanted to make it clear her son was not the ice-cream bandit. And she also had one more thing to say. She heard this week the ice-cream sandwiches actually sell for only 50 cents in the cafeteria.

“I guess they owe me some change back,” she said.
From the Kansas City Star Website

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