Family sues Texas school district after football players stuffed allergic teammate’s locker with peanuts
A disgruntled mother is suing a Texas school district after her son’s former football teammates stuffed his locker full of peanuts knowing that he was deathly allergic.
Shawna Mannon alleged that the Lake Travis Independent School District in Austin failed to properly address the October 2023 incident or stop the relentless harassment of her son, Carter, that followed.
“Despite [Carter’s] efforts to seek help from school authorities, LTISD was deliberately indifferent to the ongoing bullying, failing to intervene or provide accommodations, properly supervise students, and staff, or enforce disciplinary measures mandated by state law for students committing assault,” the lawsuit, filed in federal court on April 6, states.
“This failure to address the ongoing bullying not only violated [Carter’s] rights but also endangered his life.”
Carter was not named in the civil action suit, but was identified in the extensive media coverage that followed the deranged attack.
The 16-year-old sophomore, an offensive lineman, was the youngest player on the Lake Travis High School football varsity team.
Carter’s age seemingly put a target on his back, with two teammates taking advantage of his severe allergies just one day after learning about them, the lawsuit alleges.
Carter disclosed his condition on Oct. 5 when some of his buddies suggested visiting a Texas Roadhouse, a restaurant he admitted he couldn’t visit because it was known for serving peanuts.
Two boys — dubbed “Student G and Student B” in the lawsuit — questioned the severity of Carter’s disability, specifically whether he could die if peanuts were thrown on him, put in his locker or placed in his uniform.
“[Carter] candidly responded that any of these actions could indeed result in his death and even showed
his teammates the epi-pen he always carries as a precaution,” the 30-page document states.
That revelation inspired the two high schoolers to kick-start their evil plan within minutes of their conversation, according to the suit.
Students G and B “unlawfully” returned to their high school and poured a can of peanuts inside Carter’s locker, over his uniform and inside his football cleats — all while they recorded the dastardly act, the lawsuit alleges.
The next day as they arrived at the school for an away game, Student G allegedly began tossing fistfuls of nuts at Carter, which he fortunately managed to avoid. During this time, Carter also overheard his name and witnessed Student B laughing as he showed others a mysterious video on his phone.
Moments later, however, he was doused with the deadly peanuts when he opened his locker door.
“When he retrieved his uniform, he found it, along with his cleats, covered in peanuts, which triggered an allergic reaction,” the lawsuit states. The teenager rushed to the bathroom to wash his hands — narrowly avoiding anaphylactic shock — but suffered “hives on his arm for several days.”
Shawna Mannon met with a series of school coaches and administrators in the following weeks — and even complained to the school board — but the two boys never faced serious punishment for their attack, the lawsuit alleges.
The LTISD disagreed with the lawsuit, claiming it did its due diligence during an internal investigation.
“We take all allegations of bullying and harassment seriously. We responded immediately when we learned of this situation, conducting a thorough investigation,” the district said in a statement. “The safety of our students and staff is our highest priority.”
The players were suspended for two football games, with the district later ruling that the incident didn’t meet “the legal definition” of bullying.
Student G — who Mannon’s lawyers allege was not punished because he was a star on the team — was allegedly emboldened by the lack of disciplinary action and continued taunting Carter in the following weeks about being untouchable.
“Undeterred by LTISD’s lack of response, Student G has continued to boast about what he refers to as his ‘attempted murder’ of [Carter]. He has escalated his threatening verbal assaults against [Carter], boasting that he is a ‘killer’ who would prevail against any charges brought against him by [Carter] or his family,” the lawsuit states.
The bullying aimed at Carter intensified in the coming months and grew to affect his entire family: A series of anonymous social media pages targeted the Mannons, according to the suit.
With no help from the school district in sight, Carter finally decided last month to transfer to another school district to “escape the harassment” after “enduring six months of assault, harassment, and bullying,” the lawsuit says.
His family is also in the process of selling the home and moving out of the LTISD boundaries.
