Shawna Mannon and her son Carter, inset, allege in a lawsuit that his school failed to properly address bullying allegations after two football teammates put peanuts in his locker despite knowing about his severe allergy. (Screenshot: Google Maps; Mannon family photo)
A Texas mother has filed a lawsuit against her son’s school district after his teammates on the football team allegedly put peanuts on his uniform and inside his cleats despite knowing doing so could have been deadly.
Shawna Mannon alleged that school officials failed to properly punish the teammates and did not stop the persistent bullying of her son, Carter, a then-sophomore offensive lineman on the Lake Travis High School football team in Austin. Carter is identified in the lawsuit as C.M. The incident garnered national headlines in November when Mannon complained to the school board that the offending students only received a two-game suspension from the coach.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Texas, demands no less than $1.5 million and accuses the Lake Travis Intermediate School District of violating Carter’s rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act and creating a “hostile educational environment.”
In a statement to Law&Crime, the school district said it takes bullying and harassment seriously.
“We responded immediately when we learned of this situation, conducting a thorough investigation,” the statement said. “We disagree with the allegations contained in the lawsuit, and we look forward to responding through the appropriate legal channels. The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority. Given that this now involves litigation, we do not plan to have any further comments at this time.”
According to the lawsuit, Carter and two of his teammates on Oct. 5 were discussing dinner plans when one of them suggested Texas Roadhouse, which is known for serving peanuts. Carter, who is “severely” allergic to peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish, explained to the other boys about his allergy and showed them his EpiPen he always carries with him should he have a reaction, the lawsuit said.
The boys allegedly asked whether “throwing peanuts on him, pouring them in his locker, or putting them in his uniform could be fatal,” with Carter telling them it could. After the conversation, the two boys “unlawfully” entered the football locker room and one of them identified as “Student G” took a can of peanuts and “proceeded to empty the contents all over C.M.’s uniform and inside his football cleats” and throughout his locker, the lawsuit alleged. The other boy, identified as “Student B,” reportedly recorded the act, but returned the next morning and tried to clean out the locker.
The next day, the team was getting ready for a game when Carter entered the locker room and Student G threw peanuts at him, the lawsuit said. According to Mannon’s lawyers, Carter avoided the peanuts and walked to his locker where he heard Student B showing fellow teammates something on his phone and what he and Student G did to him. Carter saw all the peanuts strewed in front of his locker and on his jersey and cleats, the lawsuit said. Carter’s coach gave him a clean jersey and cleats for the game, the lawsuit said. He did not ingest the peanuts but reportedly did develop hives on his arms that lasted for days.
Mannon approached the head coach, Hank Carter, the next day to talk about the situation. Carter, according to the lawsuit, said he would “handle the situation.” A few days later, Mannon met with an assistant principal at the school who allegedly told her that Carter would handle any discipline. But the suit argues the school failed to follow district and state policies which say administrators must step in and discipline the offenders when bullying is occurring.
Student G allegedly boasted about what he calls his “attempted murder” and described himself as a “killer.” Mannon’s lawyers also allege that Student G was not further punished because he was a star on the team.
The harassment reportedly continued on Oct. 30 when another student put a peanut butter granola bar in Carter’s backpack. School officials continued to fail to address the matter even after a Nov. 8 meeting between Mannon and the superintendent, Paul Norton, her attorneys said. The school did start an investigation following Mannon’s well-publicized statements to the school board, but Assistant Principal Sandy Surdy allegedly concluded last month that “bullying, as defined by law and LTISD policy, has not occurred,” the lawsuit said.
“This conclusion seemed to rely on C.M.’s alleged lack of desire for a schedule change or expressed fear of attending school,” the lawsuit said. “However, Surdy’s report overlooked crucial details, including C.M.’s expressed desire to quit the football team due to relentless bullying and his eventual transfer to another school district to escape the harassment and life-threatening assaults. Despite this, Surdy did acknowledge that C.M. had been adversely affected by the events of October 6 and subsequent bullying incidents, resulting in a school environment that was ‘not entirely positive.””
Carter has since transferred to a different school because the bullying and harassment got so bad. Mannon, in an interview with the Austin American-Statesman which first reported the lawsuit, said she filed the suit because she had exhausted all other options.
“We had done our due diligence,” she told the newspaper. “We’re going the legal route because we didn’t get what we wanted.”
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
