Parents of South Charleston basketball players seek injunctions over suspension

CHARLESTON - Two parents of South Charleston High School basketball players each filed separate complaints last week seeking an injunction and temporary restraining order against school suspensions.

Shelia Dunham filed a suit on behalf of her sons Ricky and Rashaun Dunham, and Trina Beverly filed a suit on behalf of her son Kenneth "Scooter" Daniels. The suits were filed pro se March 15 and March 16, respectively, in Kanawha Circuit Court.

The suits were filed after the boys were suspended from school for five days because the school claimed they, along with several other students, were involved in the "stalking and battery" of a 13-year-old boy.

In a handwritten statement from Scooter Daniels, he says a boy rode up on a bike after basketball practice one day and made an obscene gesture before riding off. The statement says the boys went after him, and Daniels went down a hill, away from the other boys to try to stop him. However, he claims he was told to come back. And when he got to the top of the hill, the boy was bleeding.

"The kid's mouth is bleeding, Ricky (Dunham) then tells me to hit the kid," Daniels says in the statement. "I walk over there but I DID NOT hit the kid."

The suspensions kept the boys from being involved in any school activity, which included sports. The state basketball tournament was being played at that time, and the Black Eagles were in the Class AAA tournament.

Judge Irene Berger issued an injunction, which allowed Ricky Dunham to play in the quarterfinal game against Beckley. But that injunction was rescinded before the semifinal game, and Dunham was escorted from the locker room by Charleston police officers 30 minutes before tip-off.

Rashaun Dunham, Scooter Daniels and SeDale Watson, all reserves, also were suspended for the games.

On Saturday, South Charleston lost to Huntington High School in the Class AAA championship game.