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Has this school in MN gone too far?

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NJ Vike

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Dec 15, 2000, 5:41:11 PM12/15/00
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Interesting article.
 

Fourth-grader banned from field trip for wearing green and gold

By PATRICK HOWE / Associated Press Writer

Sonkowsky.<

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- It' s not easy being green.

Ten-year-old Rocky Sonkowsky found that out when he was allegedly banned from a class pizza party with the Minnesota Vikings because he repeatedly refused to take off his Green Bay Packers jersey.

Two days before the rival teams meet for a second time this season, the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union on Friday announced a lawsuit in federal court against the school district, two teachers and the school principal for violating his right to free speech.

Call it Packers persecution.

The mess started in fall of 1999 when New Prague Intermediate School, 40 miles west of Minneapolis, entered a statewide geography contest. A visit to the Vikings facility in Eden Prairie to meet star receiver Cris Carter was the top prize.

But, according to Rocky' s attorneys, school officials made the 10-year-old cover his cherished Packers jersey in a photo for the contest.

When he wouldn' t back down from showing the team' s green and gold, they also kept him out of a parade the rest of the class got to be in and refused to post his Packer-centric art work. Then, after the class won the trip, they refused to let him go along, attorneys said.

" They were afraid that his being a Packer fan would embarrass the Vikings and Cris Carter, " said Charles Samuelson, executive director of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union.

" I' ll bet if Cris Carter had known about this, he would have talked to the kid and jerked his chain and probably given him a Vikings jersey. I can' t imagine he would have been offended."

In fact, Sonkowsky and his father, Roy, will meet the Vikings anyway. After hearing about the mess, the team offered the two sideline seats and a chance to meet the team Sunday.

District Superintendent Frankie Poplau confirmed that the child in question was not allowed to make the field trip. But she wouldn' t say why, noting that the district plans to dispute the facts of case -- in court.

" It is not our practice to discriminate against students based on their sports team allegiance. I have great respect for the professionals in this district, " Poplau said.

The district has 20 days to respond to the lawsuit, filed Wednesday.

Joni Thome, the attorney for the family, said Rocky was disciplined for some playground scrapes and foul language while the jersey debate was going on. But she said the discipline wouldn' t have been required if school officials hadn' t forced the issue.

The school never should have expected the boy to hide his team allegiance, she said.

" They are Packer fans, as we all know Packer fans to be, " Thome said. " They will die Packer fans."

She also swears the timing of the case has nothing to do with the game, calling it merely an attempt to beat a one-year statute of limitations on the case.

Thome said Rocky and his dad are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages and attorneys fees.

On the Net:

Green Bay Packers: http://www.packers.com

Minnesota Vikings: http://www.vikings.com

Minnesota Civil Liberties Union: http://www.mnclu.org

Zach

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Dec 15, 2000, 7:22:21 PM12/15/00
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Sounds like the kind of school I would want to send my kids to!!  Way to go New Prague!!

Mike Perkins

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Dec 16, 2000, 11:47:12 PM12/16/00
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Yeah, they should have let him wear his Packers jersey. Then maybe Johnny Randle would have seen it and sacked the little bugger from the blind side! ;-)
 
Sorry, I couldn't help it!!!
--
 
Mike, The Kansas Viking.
Go Vikings!!
The Team Of The New Millennium!
http://midusa.net/~vikings1/index.htm

Matt

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Dec 17, 2000, 2:17:18 AM12/17/00
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In article <b6x_5.575$eb.3...@nnrp1.ptd.net>, "NJ Vike"
<njv...@excite.com> wrote:

> MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- It' s not easy being green.=20
>
> Ten-year-old Rocky Sonkowsky found that out when he was allegedly banned =
> from a class pizza party with the Minnesota Vikings because he =
> repeatedly refused to take off his Green Bay Packers jersey.=20

Absurd. Like the color Green somehow hurts the Vikings' feelings.

Matt

goemans99

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Dec 20, 2000, 10:50:50 AM12/20/00
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Perhaps a little off the hook?  Talk about taking it too seriously.  I bet the other kids gang up on him as it is for being a Pack supporter. 
 
The school was DEAD wrong, though.

NJ Vike

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Dec 20, 2000, 2:09:33 PM12/20/00
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I wonder if anyone on the Vikings has done anything about it?
 
Perhaps, a photo or something would be nice.
 
Although, the story did mention a law suit against the school. I'll bet he gets something very nice in its place.
 

Geoff Gass

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Dec 20, 2000, 3:45:54 PM12/20/00
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On Wed, 20 Dec 2000 19:09:33 GMT, NJ Vike <njv...@excite.com> wrote:
>I wonder if anyone on the Vikings has done anything about it?
>
>Perhaps, a photo or something would be nice.
>
>Although, the story did mention a law suit against the school. I'll bet =

>he gets something very nice in its place.

I read somewhere that the kid and his father got tickets to last week's
game.

Greg

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Dec 20, 2000, 7:00:32 PM12/20/00
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wrote:


Perhaps a little off the hook?  Talk about taking it too seriously.  I bet the other kids gang up on him as it is for being a Pack supporter.  
 
The school was DEAD wrong, though.


As I've said before, I really don't think all of the facts are out yet!!
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