Echoing his sentiments, Shawna says, “They might as well have loaded a gun and put it to his head because this is a fatal thing for my child.”
A spokesperson from the Lake Travis Independent School District confirmed that two football players put peanuts in Carter’s cleats and jersey in his locker, after Carter communicated he was severely allergic to peanuts and could potentially die from contact. The district also confirms that one boy filmed the other placing peanuts inside Carter’s locker.
Shawna was later told by officials that the video was deleted.
“I believe that the boy who filmed later said, ‘Maybe this wasn’t a good idea’ and (at some point) they went back … and tried to clean it up,” says Shawna, based on what she says another parent told her.
A Slap on the Wrist
After reporting the incident to school officials and the football coach, Shawna says the two boys were benched in uniform for two football games, were made to run laps at practice and are banned from the varsity locker room. But she wants more accountability.
A spokesperson from the Lake Travis Independent School District stands by the notion that the actions against Carter were not bullying and did not warrant criminal charges.
The spokesperson said in an email that the peanut incident did not meet the definition of bullying under the Texas Education Code, which defines bullying, in part, as something that “has the effect or will have the effect of physically harming a student, damaging a student’s property, or placing a student in reasonable fear of harm.”
“Upon concluding our investigation, it was determined that the legal elements of bullying were not met,” the spokesperson said.
I beg to differ.
Despite Shawna’s efforts, the case was closed on this matter on December 6, 2023.
Shawna says she spoke with the parents of the two students, who appeared remorseful and sympathetic. “Our family is big on forgiveness … I don’t have any intention of dragging these boys’ names through the mud,” she says.
The boys were warned against retaliating, but Shawna says that warning fell on deaf ears.
“As the season progressed … the kid who put the peanuts in Carter’s locker said things like, ‘I’d do it again,'” she says. “It was very clear that he was not remorseful.”
