From Judge James Peterson (W.D. Wis.) Aug. 14 in Whalen v. Selk, which allows the claim to go forward:
Jake Whalen played basketball for Waunakee High School from his freshman through junior year. During much of that time, Jake's father, Mark Whalen, was complaining to school officials about head coach Dana MacKenzie and assistant coach Tyler Selk. Mark says that he was primarily concerned about potential financial misconduct by the coaches related to a private basketball camp they ran. Selk says that Mark's real beef was a long-simmering disagreement about Jake's playing time.
Over the course of more than a year, Mark's complaints escalated, culminating in both school district and police investigations. Neither the police nor the school district found any misconduct, but at the end of Jake's junior year, the school district chose not to renew MacKenzie's contract—without giving a reason—and Selk became the head coach. The following year, Selk cut Jake from the varsity team.
Selk admits that Jake was a better player than other students who made the team, but Selk says he cut Jake anyway because of a concern that Jake's perception of his ability was unrealistic, and he would not have been happy with his place on the team. Jake and Mark contend that Selk was angry with Mark and Jake because of Mark's accusations and because Jake confronted Selk in front of the principal about wanting to be treated fairly….
