Student Safety: The Answers Left Pending

School Board: Call, ring, no answer, leave voicemail, hang up and repeat.

High School: Call, ring, secretary answers, message taken, hang up and repeat. 

    This process happened every 2 to 3 days a week for a little over a month, before a response was received from anyone. Voicemail box recordings and guarantees that Principal's would receive left messages when they returned from meetings were the usual.

    A high school football reporting project for upper-level journalism students at Kent State University, based on Dr. Bennet Omalu's recommendation that high school student's shouldn't be playing football due to the possibility of irreversible damage on an underdeveloped brain, is where this journey began. During his work as a Neuropathologist in 2002, Dr. Omalu discovered Chronic Traumatic Encephalothopy, better known as CTE, in a former Pittsburgh Steeler football player who had died suddenly. He was suspicious that the player suffered from dementia pugilistica (dementia induced by repeated blows to the head), and after a self-funded research process found out he was correct. The player had sustained CTE from his many years of football play and multiple concussions.    

Neuropathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu

    He was suspicious that the player suffered from dementia pugilistica (dementia induced by repeated blows to the head), and after a self-funded research process found out he was correct. The player had sustained CTE from his many years of football play and multiple concussions. If he had sustained this permanent injury how many more football players had the same issue and were unaware of its possibly extreme and possibly fatal effects?

    The question from there became clear. If a doctor who published the true effects of CTE on a fully developed brain, also recommended students, who brains are only partially developed, not play football how do administrators of public Ohio schools feel about it? With that in mind each reporting student was paired with a school district and could choose a public school within that district to profile.

    The tasks were simple. First, obtain all the paperwork that must be signed by players and their parents before they are allowed to touch the field, specifically those related to concussions. Second, set up two interviews. One with the principal of the chosen school and the other from that districts school board president, asking their opinion on the recommendation that Doctor Omalu gave for students...But not one call was returned and finding an email address to send a public records request was like finding a needle in a hay stack. 

    

    Frustrating is not the word to describe the emotions that come to mind when simply trying to find a person to speak to about the safety risk of players at one of the most talented, talked about and well known public high school football teams in Cleveland, Ohio.  

Glenville High School Football Team by Karin McKenna

    Glenville high school's list of notable alumni span from writers and actor like Steve Harvey and Jerry Seigel to their vast amount of National Football League (NFL) alumni such as Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and Donte Whitner. With its large number of NFL alumni alone it comes as no surprise that the Glenville Tarblooder's Football team is one of this school's shining jewels. The team has been coached by the same man, Cleveland notable Ted Ginn Sr., since 1997.

Football CoachTed Ginn Sr.

Head Football Coach Ted Ginn Sr. and Players at First Energy Stadium

    
    His dedication to the teams betterment made way for them to be the first Cleveland Public High School to advance to the State Final in OHSAA Playoff history in 2009.   

     Currently 5-3 in conference play, the team recently said goodbye to 18 of its graduating senior players who participated in National Signing Day, where letters of intent to play at the Collegiate Level were signed as parents, teachers, friends and media alike watched and cheered. Who wouldn't want to talk about that?

2016 National Signing Day

    The reality is this particular neighborhood in Cleveland isn't one of the best. Many parts of it are riddled with poverty, crime and drugs. Not the type of place anybody wants to live, much less raise a family, but people make do with what they have. Often times the only way out that these young men see is through sports and with a program as well known for giving many players a way out of their current circumstances, it's no surprise that the community, school and players would be protective of anything threatening to take that away...but that doesn't mean the dangers shouldn't be addressed or considered. 

    While the previous argument may be valid that doesn't negate that the school had given no correspondence after other than a pleasant secretary, Ms. Watkins, promising to deliver messages in over a month. 

    At the beginning of week 5, contact was made with the school board president's secretary, Ms. Karlea Steele, who explained that she had been out sick for a few days, but had planned on returning the calls left in her voicemail box as soon as possible. This conversation was only after being transferred to 3 different departments, all of whom claimed they either didn't know who the president was, whether they existed, or who should be spoken to to get into contact with whoever they were... Ms. Steele went on to say that the School Board President didn't give out her personal email, but offered to forward my emails to Ms. Denise Link, the current Cleveland Metropolitan School District President...From whom nothing has been received. 

Dr. Samuel Scavella - Glenville  High School Co-Principal

Ms. Denise Link- Current School Board President to Cleveland Metropolitan School Distirct

    Glenville High however redeemed themselves by having Ms. Jacqueline Belle, co-principal with Dr. Scavella, return my calls Friday, October 14th 2016 at around 7pm. She stated due to her position over the athletic functions at the school she had been asked to return my call. She agreed to do an interview the evening of October 18th 2016 depending on her test results from the doctor, since she hadn't been feeling well and was scheduled for an appointment.

Jacqueline Bell Co-Principal at Glenville High School
(Picture wasn't given or placed on schools website for use) 

    Up to this point nothing has been said in relation to the topic of concussions or the recommendation students shouldn't be playing football from the school or the school board president. Whether either interview with Ms. Bell or Ms. Link will happen is still up in the air. Does the school agree with allowing students to play football despite the proven irreversible imminent dangers? Does the School board principal have anything say at all? Is this important to the administrators at all? Until definite "No's" or refusals to speak can be obtained in writing or on tape...

   

Call, ring, leave message, hang up and repeat. 

What I've Learned:

     My name is Savanna R McCarthy and thus far I've learned that reporting is a much more complex skill than people, even those in journalism fields, give it credit for. It requires not only tenacity, but an ability to take rejection and not give up. It's about asking the questions everyone else is afraid to ask. Most important it's about knowing how to ask the right questions, and that can only be done after preliminary research has been completed. This skill not only teaches you how to tell a compelling story, but how not to settle for whatever someone gives you, how to get the information you want and the answers you need no matter how adversity you face. 

     This project in particular has shown me the disorganization of many organizations put in place for lower level student's education, and how necessary resourcefulness is in this field of study. The likelihood of a reporter getting the run around is high, especially if they are asking the questions no one wants to answer. However, a large amount of their frustration can be avoided if they are persistent, well connected and willing to work until the entire story is told truthfully.

     Truthfully, Karl Idsvoog's class scared me when I first walked in the door, but I now thank his...interesting way of getting his points across...because they teach lessons you can apply to life as well as this class; and as I'm sure we can all agree they aren't lessons that are easily forgotten.

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