By Mary Mitchell
Chicago Sun-Times (Commentary)
CHICAGO — How close is too close when it comes to female teachers and male students?
That question has to be addressed at Marshall Metro High School, where two senior football players were arrested during the recent graduation ceremony.
Brandon Davis, 18, and Dreyvon Williams, 18, have been charged with armed robbery, aggravated battery, attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking, unlawful vehicle invasion and unlawful restraint.
The alleged crimes occurred on school property the day before the June 9 graduation. Both men are in Cook County jail under a $75,000 bond.
“Twenty minutes into the graduation, my son sent me a text message saying: ‘Mama the police got me. This lady said I robbed her,’ ” said Brandy Davis, Brandon’s mother. “I ran out of the graduation and I find the principal, and the dean and the police officer and my son is on his way to Harrison and Kedzie.”
The victim is a former teacher. She has accused Brandon Davis and Williams of robbing her of a cellphone. They were hustled to jail still wearing their caps and gowns.
Davis’ mother says her son has known the former teacher for a year.
“My son is being railroaded,” she said.
I have been unable to reach the teacher, and I am not identifying her because she is the victim.
A CPS spokesman confirmed the teacher was employed at Marshall last year and was not teaching at the high school when the incident occurred.
Tragically, arrests of teens and young men in the African-American community are far too common, and any assault on a teacher is alarming. But these allegations involve behavior that raises red flags.
For one thing, the victim is a young, female teacher who was employed at the school for only a brief period, yet was hanging out on school property at the time of the alleged assault.
Additionally, why would a teacher who was no longer employed at the high school want to attend the graduation?
I know CPS has some dedicated teachers, but that doesn’t make sense.
According to the police report, the day before graduation, the former teacher went to the high school to meet up with a student who was going to give her a “ticket to the graduation.”
The report also states that the former teacher offered to give the student, who is now a witness in this case, “a ride home.”
After the student told the victim he was waiting for his cousin, the victim said she would wait too.
What happens next, as detailed in the police report, reads like the script for one of those awful reality shows.
“The witness gets into the car with the victim. The witness sees Brandon Davis and gets out of the car. As he gets out of the car, Dreyvon Williams gets in the car and tries to start the car. The victim snatches the keys from the ignition. Williams pulls out a handgun and threatens victim to give him the car key. She refuses and runs. Williams catches up with her and shoves her against the fence. While struggling, the victim bites Williams on the arm, and a pit bull that is in the yard bites the victim. The victim is taken to the hospital and is treated for dog bite.”
The school’s principal, athletic director and football coach did not return several emails and phone calls requesting interviews on this matter. But a spokesman confirmed a CPS report was filed about this incident.
If Davis and Williams assaulted a teacher, they should be held accountable.
But if this former teacher developed an inappropriate relationship with these high school athletes, she put herself at risk.
Although a young female who is only a couple of years out of college may be able to teach high school and gain the respect of students, such a person should not be hanging out with prep football players.
Frankly, if we changed the gender of the accused men to female and the gender of this victim to male, school officials would have launched their own investigation into the relationship between the students and their teacher.
Two of Marshall’s football players are behind bars, charged with behavior that brings shame upon a school that is not only an institution on the West Side, but in this city.
Someone besides Davis’ mother ought to want to know how this mess got started.
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