TX - Austin Metcalf - 17 - fatally stabbed at track meet, 2 April 2025

[Miss Poovy]

Are you saying a team cannot participate if a captain is absent? There isn’t a second who can stand in?

I don’t know the “final” statement, but there was some question if KA was on the track team or running that day. It seems like the latest he was participating. I don’t know how it works now with the schools, but it used to be if you got in trouble @ school, they could make you sit out athletic events.

The last I read he was on the track team and all the other things. I guess know with technology, reporters hurry & some errors get out.

 

[Knox]

I don’t know the “final” statement, but there was some question if KA was on the track team or running that day. It seems like the latest he was participating. I don’t know how it works now with the schools, but it used to be if you got in trouble @ school, they could make you sit out athletic events.

The last I read he was on the track team and all the other things. I guess know with technology, reporters hurry & some errors get out.

Right, I get all that. But I thought the OP is saying if the track captain is ineligible or absent, the team can’t participate? That’s my question.

 

[Miss Poovy]

Right, I get all that. But I thought the OP is saying if the track captain is ineligible or absent, the team can’t participate? That’s my question.

That wouldn’t make sense to me, but so much has changed in schools. Guys used to slug it out & a few guys would break it up if it didn’t naturally end. If they didn’t get caught by a teacher, etc, no one got in trouble. Guys were OK with each other the next day.

 

[Miss Poovy]

That wouldn’t make sense to me, but so much has changed in schools. Guys used to slug it out & a few guys would break it up if it didn’t naturally end. If they didn’t get caught by a teacher, etc, no one got in trouble. Guys were OK with each other the next day.

Sorry, Knox, I did not see all of the activity from yesterday! I know my answer doesn’t make sense!

 

[Miss Poovy]

I know there is a lot of privacy - FERPA, etc & we don’t know the exact circumstance of the knife @ school, but if I was a parent, I would want some type of assurance or procedure in place to ensure other kids weren’t harmed @ a track meet. I guess easier said than done.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Right, I get all that. But I thought the OP is saying if the track captain is ineligible or absent, the team can’t participate? That’s my question.

What I was saying is simply, if KA was the captain of the track team, as we've all been told he was according all MSM, and he was also supposed to be in class that day at his own school, but instead was skipping school (according to LE sources that were posted yesterday) then we've got quite a contradiction.

If KA was sick or injured then sure, his team could have still participated if they were already scheduled to. If his team was scheduled to be at that meet, he would have been excused from class and there'd be no reason for anyone to say he was skipping school. It'd be like saying yeah, the baseball team has a tourney but the pitcher has history class that day and can't go. School sports teams don't work like that. If the team is supposed to be there, all members are excused from classes.

So either... him and his team were all supposed to be there and the claim of him skipping school that day is not accurate - or - him and/or his team were not supposed to be there, he skipped school as the report says, and showed up anyway & murdered Austin Metcalf.

And if he was indeed supposed to be in class but his team was scheduled to be there anyway, why is the captain of the team not excused to be at the meet? Suspended from the team for a time due to having a knife on school grounds previously? Possibly?

Really I'm just thinking out loud here. The info from yesterday saying he ditched school that day really throws a fat monkey wrench into the whole sequence of events.

 

[Miss Poovy]

I understand what you are saying . . . these cases the info dribbles out, changes, etc. and goodness, if you are trying to follow more than one case . . .

 

[Cryptic]

Are you saying a team cannot participate if a captain is absent? There isn’t a second who can stand in?

Student team captains of High School sports are entirely honorific- but still worth putting on college applications under the "Why not?" school of thought.

For track and field / cross country, the team captain is usually an 11th or 12th grade student with noted ability in one, or more of the athletic events.

Their duties are very limited. At competitions, they will be invited to attend a course, local rules, weather, and order of events briefing with the coordinators. They then shake hands with the other student captains.

In the end, they can be substituted easily. And.... not all schools even appoint student team captains. The position is purely honorific and not needed for a school to compete.

 

[Cryptic]

It used to be if you got in trouble @ school, they could make you sit out athletic events.

That concept is alive and well.

But.... how its implemented depends on the school, the coaches, and what kind of trouble the student is in.

Academically ineligible is a "show stopper" as far as participation goes in Texas. The rules are from the State and are written to be somewhat lenient in regards to the definition of " truly failing grades". But..... once a student is "truly failing", he or she will not be in games, but can still practice.

Other types of problems such as varying levels of violence, suspensions etc. are not so "cut and dried". Expulsion to the alternative school results in no participation of any kind. Regular suspensions can result, in being kicked off a team as the student is found to be a safety risk.

But.... some principals and coaches give violence prone students second- or, well... third chances as they feel it is usually better to have the student on a team if eligible- than be bored, aggressive and roaming around with out purpose.

 

[Quill]

Yes, you still have to be in good standing to be eligible for all extra-curricular activities; at least, where I live you do. Participation by an ineligible athlete, be it grades or behavior related suspension, is grounds for forfeiture of any wins.

 

[Cryptic]

Yes, you still have to be in good standing to be eligible for all extra-curricular activities; at least, where I live you do. Participation by an ineligible athlete, be it grades or behavior related suspension, is grounds for forfeiture of any wins.

"Some truths are clear. Others are quiet, hidden and take many forms"

And.... faux New Age mysticism aside, "ineligible due to behavior related suspension" is a fuzzy concept in Texas.

Behavior that leads to expulsion (alternative school) makes the student ineligible. But.... there are no rules from the State regarding "in house/ school" behavior problems and mandatory ineligibility that I know of.

Rather, school principals, coaches and school athletic directors arrive at policies that they are comfortable with. For example, our Principal (overall low income school with many challenges) operates under a "Generally better to allow angry behavior problems to play, than not play" line of thought.

The principal is not starry eyed. Rather, he knows that athletics can give angry youth a sense of purpose- and they "go home tired". This then can help reduce future behavior problems.

 

[Cryptic]

Yes, you still have to be in good standing to be eligible for all extra-curricular activities; at least, where I live you do.

Well said. It works that way in Texas as well.

But..... "good standing" regarding behavior issues is largely (but not completely) determined by each individual school in our state. So, the definition of "good standing" is going to vary- alot.

The end result is that some schools will allow at risk youth "AY" to play on teams. Meanwhile, the next school over will not.

Applying the above, we have had students with gun shot wounds (neither was an innocent drive by victim) on our football team. Not surprising, these students also had alot of behavioral issues.

They were "in good standing" under our principal with his better to let play when possible approach. It is very unlikely that either one of them would have met the definition of "good standing" at some other nearby schools.

 

[Quill]

"Some truths are clear. Others are quiet, hidden and take many forms"

And.... faux New Age mysticism aside, "ineligible due to behavior related suspension" is a fuzzy concept in Texas.

Behavior that leads to expulsion (alternative school) makes the student ineligible. But.... there are no rules from the State regarding "in house/ school" behavior problems and mandatory ineligibility that I know of.

Rather, school principals, coaches and school athletic directors arrive at policies that they are comfortable with. For example, our Principal (overall low income school with many challenges) operates under a "Generally better to allow angry behavior problems to play, than not play" line of thought.

The principal is not starry eyed. Rather, he knows that athletics can give angry youth a sense of purpose- and they "go home tired". This then can help reduce future behavior problems.

No wonder no one develops good self control anymore. It was once a motivator to check yourself in order to be able to participate. I played "mad" many times but kept it in the context of giving the most effort I possibly could, more aggressive in my play within the boundaries, of course.

 

[Miss Poovy]

Maybe I’m being too optimistic or a dullard, but did anyone want to know why AK was carrying around a knife? He is described as a good student, all the other good qualities?

 

[Simply Southern]

Maybe I’m being too optimistic or a dullard, but did anyone want to know why AK was carrying around a knife? He is described as a good student, all the other good qualities?

I've wondered about that myself. All our sporting events have scanners and we go through a weapon detector. Moo

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1917680145999024432

 

[Cryptic]

I've wondered about that myself. All our sporting events have scanners and we go through a weapon detector. Moo

DFW area sporting events are mixed in regards to security. Our football games are given "the whole nine yards"- get it, get it security wise:

Metal detectors, parents told to sit only in areas reserved for their school, security actively disperses parents, students and others after the games to prevent people from congregating / loitering etc. etc.

Likewise, select basketball games in the area also receive heavy doses of security. But... as @Tower noted very early in the thread, track is well, track in regards to historic safety.

With track's safe track record in mind, DFW track meets dont have heavy security. Granted, people who obviously are there to cause trouble, will be turned away. Parents are no longer allowed on the field at our shared stadium after some vicariously "livin large through my child" types got juiced up by the pole vault / throwing pits.

But.... over all, security is light at DFW track meets with little, if any checks of any kind. Historically, there has been no need for dialed up security.

 

[PrairieWind]

What I was saying is simply, if KA was the captain of the track team, as we've all been told he was according all MSM, and he was also supposed to be in class that day at his own school, but instead was skipping school (according to LE sources that were posted yesterday) then we've got quite a contradiction.

If KA was sick or injured then sure, his team could have still participated if they were already scheduled to. If his team was scheduled to be at that meet, he would have been excused from class and there'd be no reason for anyone to say he was skipping school. It'd be like saying yeah, the baseball team has a tourney but the pitcher has history class that day and can't go. School sports teams don't work like that. If the team is supposed to be there, all members are excused from classes.

So either... him and his team were all supposed to be there and the claim of him skipping school that day is not accurate - or - him and/or his team were not supposed to be there, he skipped school as the report says, and showed up anyway & murdered Austin Metcalf.

And if he was indeed supposed to be in class but his team was scheduled to be there anyway, why is the captain of the team not excused to be at the meet? Suspended from the team for a time due to having a knife on school grounds previously? Possibly?

Really I'm just thinking out loud here. The info from yesterday saying he ditched school that day really throws a fat monkey wrench into the whole sequence of events.

I would suggest that due to his suspension for the previous knife incident he was off the team. He might have "at one time" been the captain, but wasn't anymore. I can't imagine a student could get a suspension for bringing a lethal weapon to school and still be permitted to participate in athletics. So the team may have been participating at that track meet, but he was was supposed to be in class, but just "checked himself out" anyway.

 

[Marfe]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1917680145999024432

Risky. IF this is true and IF there are legitimate safety concerns, and you sink all that money in a new home, then if that address gets leaked as well (like the old address) then that place is no longer safe. What then? Sell and move again?? It also makes me doubt all these 'safety and security concerns' because anyone can find out which property you own through the county's Central Appraisal District website I believe... at least if you rent, it's more anonymous.

I am trying hard on this one, but honestly to me it looks as though the parents get a lot of $$$ profit here and do what is right for them (mortgage/rent free living for the rest of their lifetime now) and NOT what is best for their son - how will they pay for the top defense lawyers now? Or do they believe the average joe will keep donating $$$ to their fund raising to pay not only for their new home now, but for the future cost of the defense, the spokespersons etc..? Really strange thing to do imo.

 

[Ontario Mom]

I would suggest that due to his suspension for the previous knife incident he was off the team. He might have "at one time" been the captain, but wasn't anymore. I can't imagine a student could get a suspension for bringing a lethal weapon to school and still be permitted to participate in athletics. So the team may have been participating at that track meet, but he was was supposed to be in class, but just "checked himself out" anyway.

It makes sense to me, but I haven't been able to confirm if his team was actually there - if he was no longer team captain, or if he was suspended for the knife incident, or even if he was ditching class. Seems to be a lot of insinuations but not a lot of confirmed facts here. Yet.