09-23-2006, 11:01 PM
Quote:LAYTON, Utah -- A 15-year-old high school football player faces simple assault charges for putting a thumbtack in his glove before shaking hands and high-fiving players from a rival school, authorities said.
The student was kicked off the team following the incident, which happened Thursday after a game against Davis High School. The student's name has not been released.
"This was a young man who made a very immature decision, " said Dee Burton, Layton High School assistant principal .
Several members of the Davis team were jabbed with the tack, said Layton Police Sgt. James Petre. One chose to press charges.
The two schools have a long history of playing pranks on each other, school officials said.
Davis School District spokesman Christopher Williams said he was told salt had been poured on the Layton football field earlier this week, but "that does not justify what the student did. "
He said he did not know if the field was damaged.
"There's been a rivalry between the two for years, but it doesn't justify one student to hurt another student, " Williams said.
Along with criminal charges, the student could face further sanctions from the school if an administrator decides the tack was a weapon and that the incident wasn't merely a prank, school officials said.
Layton is 20 miles north of Salt Lake City.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
Stunner's $.02
What happened to the days when if a team or player didn't like you, they just didn't shake your hand, rivalry or not?