Ma’lik Richmond is back on the Steubenville High School football team two years after being one of the minors convicted in juvenile court for the rape of a minor in Steubenville, Ohio. Richmond was 16 at the time of his arrest for his involvement in the rape of an intoxicated 16-year-old girl during a party. He was released in January, after serving nine months in a juvenile detention center, and is now 18.
Richmond returned to the high school for his senior year and practiced with the football team on Monday, the New York Daily News reports. Steubenville’s head coach Reno Saccoccia feels the talented wide receiver should have an opportunity to play.
“I feel that we’re really not giving him a second chance. Some may look at it like that,” Saccoccia said. “I feel like he’s earned a second chance.”
Chief probation officer Fred Abdalla Jr. told WTRF, “There’s no law against it that states he can’t play. There’s no OSHA rules that they’d be violating.” He also agrees that Richmond should be allowed to play. “Ma’lik Richmond has done everything that’s been asked of him from the court’s standpoint since he’s been sentenced,” Abdalla Jr. added.
Richmond has to register every 180 days for the next 20 years as a Tier II sex offender as a part of his 2013 rape conviction. Richmond and quarterback Trent Mays were found guilty of penetrating the girl while she was unconscious. Mays was sentenced for an additional two years for distributing sexual photos of the victim.
Instead of letting Richmond back on the football team, many feel that the school could have used the opportunity to send a message to the younger population.
“Steubenville City Schools hasn’t really done a lot in the past two years to prove to the world that they don’t tolerate rape culture and allowing a Tier II registered sex offender on the team pretty much solidifies the assumption that they are concerned about wins rather than the safety of young girls or the destruction of rape culture in their area,” Alexandra Goddard, a blogger familiar with the case, said.