A West Marion junior high basketball coach, who also serves as a counselor at the school, is being accused of bullying, intimidation and abusing her position of power by parents of players on the team. It is alleged that the coach threatened her players with in-school suspension for repeating anything she said after swearing the team to secrecy.
Players on the Lady Trojans junior high team have reported to their parents that coach Lanitra Rice was consistently berating and intimidating the players before it reached a boiling point following Monday night’s game. After the game, Rice allegedly told the team that they embarrassed her so bad that she was going to cancel the team’s final six games so they wouldn’t have the opportunity to embarrass her anymore on the court. She allegedly then swore the team to secrecy and said if they told anyone — fellow students or their parents — that she would put them in in-school suspension.
When word got back to Rice that a high school student knew what she said, she started a group text message chat with the players. Some of the messages, which are reported verbatim below, include:
“I’m gone ask one question and one only usually when I ask the I already know the answer I told y’all not to say anything to anybody you got one second to tell me how this information got to a high school player”
“U might not talk to a high schooler but it got to one the entire team can go to ISS tomorrow or y’all can gone and confess”
Some of the players then said another player was the one who spoke about the incident, and Rice responded, “Oohhhhh (player name) was the one good looking out y’all I’ll take care of her in the morning make sure everybody have they work out stuff that’s reason I said don’t say anything bc (because) I was gone talk about my meeting with everybody once again y’all can’t follow my instructions.”
She then added, “I’m waiting on all the guilty people to say something bc (because) now I’m finding out it wasn’t just (player name) I told y’all everything y’all do get back but I guess y’all just didn’t believe me.”
Some players then encouraged whoever it was that said something to speak up because it was going to get them all in trouble.
Rice then said, “I already knew this was gone happen I was prepared for it bc (because) just like the way y’all don’t listen on the court y’all don’t follow directions I got the screenshots unfortunately y’all will all go down if the people don’t confess bc (because) it was more than one person.”
After nobody else “confessed,” she added “But one thing I wouldn’t do is go down for nobody it’s sad that y’all all gone have to get in trouble And if you gone put it out there tell the truth that’s what wrong with y’all just be making up stuff.”
Rice’s final message to the team read, “So y’all just don’t care what I say and y’all probably all told everybody lies I said I was gone tell everybody after my meeting today this is the type of team I have this just showed me right here it’s all good y’all have a good night.”
A parent alleged that the next morning, Rice did send the student named by the players as the one who spoke to in-school suspension, but that information could not be verified by The Columbian-Progress.
Marion County Superintendent Michael Day said that West Marion Principal Ryan Stringer and Athletic Director Anthony Dillon addressed and handled the issue with Rice but that he could not go into specifics on a personnel matter. Day did add that the text messages never should have taken place and that the messages were addressed with Rice by Stringer and Dillon.
“We take any complaints seriously, and we have addressed it,” Day said. “If any employee does something that is not appropriate, there are steps and things that we do to address it, and I can confirm it has been addressed.”
Stringer and Dillon met with the team as well, and Day said that they reported they believed the team was ready to move on. He also said that Rice apologized to the player who was singled out.
Multiple parents have told the C-P that they are worried their children will lose their love and passion for the game because of the situation.
