If the allegations are true, I applaud the parents for taking a stand and pursuing the lawsuit.

Let me bet this straight. You transfer both your kids from a private school to a public one. We can surmise that the transfer wasn't about education, since the public school is rated lower than the private one. Although your daughter is reported to be a gifted basketball player, she is hurt while playing a contact sport, one that is all about dominance and competition. Then, she must go to a Connecticut school because there is NO OTHER SCHOOL and NO OTHER PSYCHIATRIST in the state of Illinois. And clearly, someone else must have to pay for this. REALLY? Here's what I think. I think you transferred your kids out of one school and into another for the athletic department. I think you transferred them because of money and the increased odds of getting a scholarship if they played for the larger school. I suspect that that was the reason for the Connecticut school. I'm willing to bet that scholarship odds increased with that East Coast school on the transcript. As for the psychiatrist? I don't believe that there wasn't one other person your kid could have worked with locally. I think you made some sketchy plays while trying to secure an education for your kids and you lost, now you want someone else to pay the bill. And I don't think I'm the only one on this side of the fence.

Mrs. Y - You just scored a three pointer! The girls transferred to Sandburg due to financial hardship. They never wanted to be there in the first place. The parents were known to escort the girls into the gym and demand special attention for them. This lawsuit is a result of the Mulveys not getting what they wanted and believing that their daughter had more talent than she actually had. The coaches and athletic director could have provided more leadership though. They should have established boundaries with this family from day one and not coddled them. Kathleen never got much, if any, playing time while she was at Sandburg. This infuriated her parents.

I think the questions raised above are good questions. I have a few of my own. HOW many schools did the younger Mulvey attend in three years? WHY did they leave the first school? Is there a law suit against that institution as well? WHO suggested or advised that she move to the east coast? Personally, I would NOT be able to abandon my child, who was supposedly in such a fragile state, and allow someone else (more than 1,000 miles away) to take MY place; comforting and parenting my child back to wellness. WHEN did the daughter start seeing the east coast psychiatrist? Before they decided to transfer, during the transfer or after the transfer? Is it true, that schools do not take senior transfers? Why would the family wait to transfer her senior year if she was bullied as a freshman? My child would have been out of there, the day she was injured. And We would have been pressing charges that day.
I would NEVER condone bullying. Adults have to take resposibility and set an example as good role models. And when bullying takes place where children are involved, their safety should be the priority. Have the Mulvey parents always been bullies? Is this the example they have set for their children all these years? Threatening teachers and harassing coaches to focus on solely their own kids, OR else? Is this a pattern, an example set for the young Mulvey girls throughout their upbringing?

There should be zero tolerance on bullying, in or out of school. But with that said, every accusation has it's own unique facts. The problem this incident is that the injury sustained, happened during a contact sport. Was it on purpose or not? THAT is very difficult to determine, and should be the basis for this lawsuit. I played basketball in high school and at the college level. I sustained injuries and even caused some injuries. It was not on purpose, it was part of the game. Injuries are what made me decide to stop playing. Basketball is a rough sport! If you watch a game on TV, there are purposeful fouls and then there are flagrant fouls. And that is not always determined by whether a player is injured or not. And yes, this was not a college or pro game, it was practice-- but athletes are supposed to "practice how you play." This whole case is a tragedy, no matter what the outcome. It has been a long time since it happened And hindsight can be 20/20. I have questions myself, but withhold them, because it would be hard to ask without sounding biased against the Mulveys. On both sides of this issue, lets just say, some soul-searching will never hurt and I guarantee, no one is going to feel good after the case is closed.

I was "bullied" at Sandburg because I had moved to Orland from the Midway area in 1972-my freshman year! I was told by all the cheerleaders, "Don't even bother 'trying out for any cheerleading,poms,debate team,any groups,etc' because I was 'from the city (Chicago) and I would not be considered or picked!" So I didn't bother I knew eventually all the players and they all grew-up together and cliques were 'tight' so I was an outcast from the word 'go'. Did I go home + get a gun- shoot-up the school---NO! Did I complain to the counselors, teachers, deans---no they were not listening! Did I survive and move on? Yes! Who can I sue for all the bullying I received all my life? And for the last 13 yrs as a 'School Bus Driver'??? (I'm now retired!TG) I'm Sicilian where are MY reparations???? GMAB did a Lawyer actually take this case? Did the court system allow it? It should be thrown out of court! Waste of the courts time + money! VOKLST@yahoo.com. I have lots of Sandburg stories.... Court worthy-some yes/some no!

@Megan M James You've validated my point that the transfer was quite possibly about the money. I agree, the economy sucks and many folks are forced to cut back. "Bullying" is the new PC catch-all. The fact is that social and physical dominance exist in every species out there. Scientists refer to it as "evolution" or "survival of the fittest". Someone threatening your life continually is bullying, someone calling you a doo-doo head continually is not. We need to teach our kids the difference. There are alternative schools all over Cook County and the surrounding suburbs, so if it was about finishing the year, I find it hard to believe that there wasn't ONE that would take her. Hell, if it was that bad, she could have been home schooled and tested out at the end of the year. So, no dice there. As to her "diagnoses" and her psychiatrist?? I'm not going to discount them, but I'm going to say that if you search long enough and hard enough you can find a doctor that will say whatever you want them to, and, any reputable therapist who is leaving a practice will work to transition their patients to a new therapist.

Folks, there are a lot of assumptions being made here, some very closely toeing the line of our Terms of Use. If you need a refresher, click on the link below. Just a suggestion. Please keep it reasonable. Thank you.

Since nothing has come to light yet and these are just accusations, I think it is horrible you put a team picture on here.

Can't believe they got an attorney to take the case...it's ludicrous! And now the school will have to defend itself with taxpayer money. Sandburg has it's problems but a bullying girls basketball team is not one of them...and that is a fact!

after reading these comments there is no mystery from whom these children learn how to bully...we went to a L-W East vs Marist Varsity Girls BB game the other week at Sandburg and we surprised to watch and listen to a L-W East fan group with a member dressed in a "Jesus Costume" - the group chanted slogans like "Jesus loves us too" and "Jesus can't save you now" - the young man even parted the fan group and proved his beard was real for the crowd...I guess this is considered good sportmanship not bullying/taunting or worse...

Girls basketball? LOL

Our attempts at circumventing evolution will only lead to weaker generations. Only the strong survive.

Folks, it doesn't matter WHY the girls transferred to Sandburg...what matters is that apparently one student chose to act violently and hurt another student when they were vulnerable clearly with malicious intent. There was a coach who had reason to believe a student would be acting violently against another, and took no action to protect the student at risk. I don't care if the girl was the most obnoxious person on earth, she didn't deserve to be injured that way in a situation where she had a right to expect the district to protect her from assault and battery under "supervised" situations. The onjes who will really be hurt by this area thestudents and taxpayers who will likely pay the bill for this apparent negligence. I believe the district may be largely self insured for this, so WE'LL pay for the consequences.

This sort of lack of action on the part of the district, as well as misguided policy,seems to be putting our children at risk.
A few months ago I went to school Board meeting where the mother of a freshman student had compiled a series of text messages and e-mails fro one student threatening to kill her son. She gave the evidence to the Orland Police, and they said it was "not their problem" because the threats came at school. the district refused to take action to protect her son. Apparently, once her son brought the district into it, the harassment got worse, the boy was seen just standing outside their home, then their dog was killed. STILL the Orland police refused to act, as did the district. How does this sort of behavior continue in a district that has a "zero tolerance" policy?

Another case of bizarre,and harmful, district 230 policies happended a few weeks ago at Stagg. A freshman student had a serious need to use the toilet facilities (No 2) and the teacher refused to let him go to the bathroom despite obvious distress of the student. The freshman was unable to control the condition, and had to "let go" in his pants. It was a big mess, and despite this humiliation, the student was FORCED to clean up after himself as the mess was all over the floor. He never came back to the school for the second semester after this humiliation, and no one heard from him since. Apparently the district has a new policy that students cannot leave the class under such a situation. I think that whatever Board or administration member came up with that policy should be fed about a gallon of pea soup and locked in a room (without toilet facilities) and have it publically televised until "nature takes its course". Perhaps that would give them a little more empathy for the hurt and humiliation their ill conceived policies are creating.

So let mew get this straight Mrs Y, its ok to bully these kids if they moved to the district because of financial reasons? Wow, and we wonder why there are so many kids being bullied! EVERY school should have a zero tolerance policy. We need to start sending a message so kids learn that it is NOT ok to treat others this way. I am not saying that anyone should receive special treatment but everyone should feel safe!

Bullying is a serious issue...I think time and evidence will show that wasn't the case here. There simply are no facts of malicious intent...it's ridiculous!

The family of the bullied child should be taking action against the student that hurt her not the school. And if my daughters were being bullied at Stagg , me as the parnet would make sure it stopped after the first time . I would never let my daughters stay in an unsafe enviroment. How the heck long did this go on? I got bullied when I was a kid and my mother nipped it right in the butt, by going to the bullies parents and the bully herself. I never got messed with again. Parents need to talk to each other and make it very clear that if you bully my child you will face the consequences. Most parents care how their children treat others and if they don't then the proper action must be taken. We live in a sue happy society. I wish I could sue the state of Illinois for making it almost finacially impossible to live here! God Bless and Keep Praying !

I hear you Bob! I didn't complain in 1972,1973,74,75 or 76 to the school or authorities beacause NONE of them were listening! It's always 1)someone elses problem or 2)there's really nothing we can do. Were there even bullying laws back then? I did stand-up for myself-after all 'I was from the city!' I'm gonna keep my eyes peeled on this case! I can't believe it's NOT on Nancy Grace yet! VOKLST

I have read the comments and Mr. Ben's reminder on where some people's comments are heading.

I can't believe that most of you are neighbors in the sense that we may pass one another on the street, go to the same church, shop in the area, and even eat at the same places and have the views that are expressed about this article.

I'm worried about my neighbors,

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

I am amazed at the police force at every corner trying to catch drivers speed and write a ticket. No, I did not get a ticket as I am trying to pretty much stay within the limits. But my point here is that if the police force would pay as much attention to bullying as they do to speeding, this would be a better place for our children and us adults. If bullying would always leave clear visible bodily injuries maybe there would be more attention paid to preventing it by law. As the most common visible bodily injury to bullying is death or death by suicide the ratio of breaking the law (bullying) and its visible and immediate outcome, is low compared to speeding and bodily injuries as a consequence. The priorities are clear: If it the injuries are not visible they don't need to be prevented. Police does not need to protect our children's emotional well being and no 911 truck will come and pick them up unless they took their own lives. I am not surprised that we have so much depression and suicide and angry and unhappy people in this world. The priorities are skewed and shifted. I hope that someday our children and their children can live in a more meaningful and kinder world and that thought leaders in this world will recognize their responsibility to bring priorities back to kindness, back to substance, back to mutual respect and away from all the fake pretentions and "cool" values and away from the entitlement to hurt other people mentally or physically.