This high school football player could have died in an incident perpetrated by his teammates.
Recently, there has been drama in the world of Texas high school football. Last fall, Lake Travis High School offensive lineman Carter Mannon and two of his teammates were hanging out. The duo asked 16-year-old Mannon if a peanut allergy diagnosed at a young age had the potential to kill him. His response was yes, it could.
It sounds like empathetic friends trying to better understand allergies, right? But that’s not the story here.
Those teammates scattered peanuts in Mannon’s locker, jersey, and cleats a day later and recorded a video of their prank. For his part, Mannon started developing hives soon after noticing the peanuts and understood his health was at risk.
Mannon’s mother reported the incident. The teammates were suspended for two games, and Mannon transferred to another school to finish out his high school career.
No other punishment was given to those transgressing teammates because the school felt that the incident didn’t qualify as bullying. The public felt differently, though, and the outrage resulted in the story being reported in People Magazine.
My take on this story is that threatening a person’s health–and possibly causing a death–is neither funny nor cool, whether or not it’s considered bullying. And while this incident certainly isn’t the first time locker room harassment has happened, such behavior can’t be tolerated under any circumstances.
An alternative is to spread kindness–in sports and beyond.
