8 Key Questions

Emma Ludwicki, Hannah Bailey, Caroline Merrick and Bridgett Horrocks

Stakeholders

● Poquoson football players

● York football players

● Poquoson school board/superintendent

● Other Poquoson students and community members

● Poquoson football coaches

Fairness

● Poquoson Football Players

○ How is it fair to the Poquoson football players to forfeit for something that

happened outside of school?

○ Is it fair for the players hard work to be overlooked by one mistake they made?

○ Is it fair that they lose the game without playing it?

● York Football Players

○ Is it fair that these York football players were subjects to this offensive, degrading

language?

● Poquoson school board/superintendent

○ Is it fair for the superintendent to forfeit the game?

● Other Poquoson students and community members

○ How is it fair to the other Poquoson football players on the team and the other

students not involved in the video that their game was cancelled?
 ○ Is it fair to other students at Poquoson and members of that community that

Poquoson High School is now facing scrutiny for racism based on just a few

boys’ videos?

○ Is it fair for others to assume that this event was a party?

● Poquoson football coaches

○ Is it fair to the coaches to have to deal with the consequences for something only a

few players were a part of?

○ Is it fair to the Poquoson football coaches to have to forfeit the game?

Outcomes

● Poquoson football players

○ Will the Poquoson football players learn from their actions with the consequences

set in place?

○ Should there be further actions taken to punish the Poquoson football players?

● York football players

○ What actions can the school take to apologize to the York football players?

● Poquoson school board/superintendent

○ What actions can the school take to make sure this doesn't happen again?

○ What actions can the school take to teach all the students about the use of this

language?

● Other Poquoson students and community members

 ○ What actions can their guardians/other members of the community take to prevent

this from happening again?

○ Will the other students at Poquoson feel safe after these threats have been made?

● Poquoson football coaches

○ What actions can the coaches take to teach their players about the effects of using

this type of language?

Responsibilities

● Poquoson football players

○ Should the entire Poquoson football team take responsibility for select members’

words?

● York football players

○ Do the York football players have the responsibility to defend themselves and

their teammates?

● Poquoson school board/superintendent

○ Is it Poquoson’s superintendent’s responsibility to discipline these football players

for actions taken outside of school?

○ Is it the Poquoson school board’s responsibility now to implement some

education on the importance of using appropriate language and rejecting racial

slurs?

● Other Poquoson students and community members

○ Is it the responsibility of other students and community members to come up with

a preventative plan so this doesn’t happen again?

 ● Poquoson football coaches

○ Should the coaches be held responsible for the actions of the players on their

team?

Character

● Poquoson football players

○ What does the actions taken by the Poquoson football players tell you about their

character?

● York football players

○ What does the response to the Poquoson football players tell you about the York

football players?

● Poquoson school board/superintendent

○ What does making the team forfeit the game tell you about the character of the

Superintendent?

● Other Poquoson students and community members

○ What does this say about the overall character of the community based on their

response?

○ How do the students’ actions expose the character of the community behind

closed doors?

● Poquoson football coaches

○ How will the coaches’ characters be defined by their response?

○ How do the students’ actions expose the character of the coaches behind closed

doors?

Liberty
 ● Poquoson football players

○ Do the Poquoson football players and other students have the freedom of speech

outside of school?

● York football players

○ Were the liberties of the York football players limited by the game being

cancelled?

● Poquoson school board/superintendent

○ Is the school district liable if the use of foul language escalates into a violent

matter?

○ Did the superintendent limit the players’ autonomy by cancelling the game?

● Other Poquoson students and community members

○ Does the community have the freedom to speak their point of view on this issue?

● Poquoson football coaches

○ Should the coaches have the freedom to decide how they punish their players?

Empathy

● Poquoson football players

○ How do these racial slurs make players on the Poquoson football team feel?

● York football players

○ How do the York football players feel about the use of racial slurs towards them?

● Poquoson school board/superintendent

○ How does the school board feel about their students using racial slurs against

other students?
 ● Other Poquoson students and community members

○ How do these actions make other people feel in the Poquoson community?

● Poquoson football coaches

○ How do the Poquoson football coaches feel about their players using this type of

language?

Authority

● Poquoson football players

○ Does the authority of the school reach to the homes of the students?

● York football players

○ Do the York football players have the right to ask authority for further

punishment towards Poquoson players?

● Poquoson school board/superintendent

○ What authority does the school have over events that take place outside of school?

● Other Poquoson students and community members

○ Do the community members have the authority to change laws so this does not

occur again?

● Poquoson football coaches

○ Do the Poquoson football coaches have the authority to tell students what they

can and cannot say?

○ Do the Poquoson football coaches have the authority to punish the team

themselves?
Rights

● Poquoson football players

○ Do the Poquoson football players have the right to say what they want?

○ Do they have the right to play in the football game?

● York football players

○ Do the York football players have the right to say what they think should be

done?

○ Do the York football players have the right to play the game if they want to?

○ Do the York football players have the right to ask for more punishment for the

Poquoson football players?

● Poquoson school board/superintendent

○ Does the school have the right to punish students for things that happen off school

grounds?

● Other Poquoson students and community members

○ Do these students not involved in the video have the right to still play in the

football game?

● Poquoson football coaches

○ Do the coaches have the right to punish the players themselves?