thing I’ve read today.

We had a similar situation with two coaches who hooked up with cheerleaders. No death threats but lots of excuses from members of the community, refusal to investigate from local Sheriff (until SLC media got involved).

It’s a very old school mentality—similar to how these cases were often handled in the 60s-70s—better to not rock the boat than face uncomfortable truths. Even in the 90s we had teachers massage girls shoulders on sports/school trips in hotel rooms (I witnessed this personally), lots of playful flirting, and multiple instances of things way way crossing the line. And it was just laughed off.

You’d hear excuses like “well she’s immodest” or “his wife is rude to him” or “he comes from a great family.”

I promise you: most kids from a small town high school over age 35ish has a story of a teacher/coach/admin who did this stuff that they were at least aware of.