John Curley: No surprise student athletes suspended for partying; high school kids are dumb

Forty-five student-athletes from Tahoma High School in Covington have been suspended from sports for attending Halloween parties where drugs or alcohol were present.

The students may still attend class but they forfeit sports for the violation of the school’s athletic code.

KIRO Radio’s John Curley asked how this is a news story when it’s pretty well understood that high school kids often engage in such activities.

“Why is that a story that high school kids, especially those involved in athletics, drink and do drugs?”

Tom & Curley Show co-host Tom Tangney agreed with Curley saying we see stories like this every year.

“I would just think, especially if you’re in the playoffs, if you’re a football player, couldn’t you avoid the Halloween parties just to make it through the playoffs?” Tom said.

But Curley said, “No,” suggesting kids don’t really have a clue in high school. He used himself as an example. When he was a student, he and members of his track team got caught at a party where there was drinking.

“[They] took us down to the police department and had us fill out the forms, had to go through the whole routine,” Curley said. “Guess what we did the next day? We went back there the next day and stole all the gas caps off the cop cars. That’s how stupid you are when you’re in high school.”

In the Tahoma case, School District Spokesman Kevin Patterson said the suspensions range from a quarter to half a season. Athletes who are not in their current season will serve the suspension when it begins.

Curley said the school really doesn’t have a choice but to discipline the students.

“The school probably has to make an example of these guys because they don’t want to make it feel like the athletes always walk around and own the place. It’s unfortunate they caught them,” he said, adding he’s surprised they did.

“What kind of athletes are you? You can’t outrun a cop in a pair of heavy black shoes?”

The sports involved in the Covington case are football, cheer, baseball, wrestling, fast-pitch softball, and girls and boys soccer.