Athletes face sexual misconduct allegation

UPDATE: The story has been updated from its print version to note that only one party has filed a complaint.

GARFIELD — During a Garfield-Palouse cooperative school board meeting on Thursday, June 27, allegations of sexual harassment and bullying were raised.

The board met at 7 p.m. to discuss a report of student-athletes from the baseball team threatening to rape a younger athlete.

“This was the first time addressed at the school board level,” said superintendent Mike Jones of Palouse.

An investigation is ongoing through the Palouse Administration.

At the meeting, Mary Inman of Garfield was invited to the podium to discuss the issue with the board formally.

According to Justin Honcoop, the Vice Chairman of the Garfield School Board, Inman made the initial report to the board, and the school district received it via email on Friday, June 7.

“We are here to discuss this incidence with our son during the 2024 Garfield Baseball season,” Inman said. “This spring, our 15-year-old son signed up for the baseball team, and we were really impressed when Coach Cocking sent out a code of conduct for every boy and their parents to sign for this season.”

Inman stated to the board that throughout the season, her son would report to her when the code of conduct was disregarded.

“We understand that phrase that ‘boys will be boys’, but we do not subscribe to that kind of thinking ourselves and we hold our sons to a higher standard of morals and respect,” said Inman.

“It started out as inappropriate music being played on the bus, clearly violating code of conduct rules number one and number three,” she said.

Inman also reported inappropriate conduct witnessed on the baseball field by others in which the athletes allegedly touched each other inappropriately.

She also stated that the boys were spreading sexual gossip about local girls.

“They were running their hands up his arms and on his thighs,” she added. “When he would slap their hands away and tell them to stop, they would taunt him and tell him, ‘I’m going to touch you, I’m going to touch you.’”

On Sunday, April 14, Inman reported that she immediately removed her son from the baseball team and reported the situation to the high school principal, guidance counselor, and athletic director.

According to Inman, a boy on the team seductively ran his hand up her son’s arm and told him to “watch out in the parking lot” while leaving prom.

She later revealed that her son told her it was a rape threat.

“Mr. Jones seemed very dismissive and even annoyed by my input,” said Inman. “Mr. Jones presented a very vague plan about how to address this situation as a whole school rather than calling out individuals. Nothing was communicated regarding the harassment, intimidation, bullying, school handbook, or sports code of conduct policies. It was as if no one in the room was clear about what the next steps should be. We share our concerns that unless people are forced to take personal responsibility for their actions, our efforts rather than diffuse the situation can often escalate it.

Inman stated at the board meeting that in her initial email to the school, they asked for complete discretion about the matter until there was a plan of action in place for keeping her children safe.

She states that the superintendent’s actions did not protect her children; rather, they heightened the risk of threat.

“Obviously, any accusation or complaint takes time. This is something we would have to investigate,” said Jones.

On April 19, Inman reports that she received an email from Jones that said, “The past couple of days, I had the opportunity to visit with students and families by sitting down with them to go through the accusations that you have identified as well as address the team as a whole.

However, we have not been able to corroborate all the accusations. Several also stated, appropriately, that ‘your son would joke with them, ‘ but they did not know he was uncomfortable.”

Jones reportedly added to his email several different options and steps he had taken to discuss the matter with the school and students.

Inman also felt Jones’s corroboration process was not correct, as her son was never questioned, unlike the other athletes.

According to Inman, Jones reportedly told her that he addressed that there is a time and place and that not everyone will find things funny or offensive.

“We had an initial conversation and contacted the Palouse Board. The Palouse Board and administration said they were in contact with Mrs. Inman. The boards spoke again, and the investigation was ongoing at our June 18th planning session,” said Honcoop. “That was when we made plans for Mrs. Inman to address both boards at that time. The complaint was made to the Palouse administration.”

According to Honcoop, Inman emailed both Garfield and Palouse school boards.

At this time, Honcoop could not say what school the alleged student-athletes are from or how many students are involved.

“The Palouse Administration has contacted Mrs. Inman and is handling the next steps,” he said.

As of press time, the official minutes from the meeting have not been posted.

Jones stated that the minutes would not be complete until sometime next week.

“We will be working with our lawyer and insurance and outside investigation,” added Jones.

“The Garfield and Palouse school boards care deeply about our students,” Honcoop said, noting the incident is being investigated.

Author Bio

Olivia Harnack, Editorial Reporter

Olivia Harnack is a Journalist at the Whitman County Gazette. Olivia is enrolled at University of Idaho and is majoring in digital film studies. She serves in the United States Army National Guard and is proud to serve Whitman County.

• Email: editor@wcgazette.com