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Orlando Sentinel said:Disney reverses teens' ban for life but defends handling of incident
Scott Powers and Henry Pierson Curtis
Sentinel Staff Writers
10:09 PM EDT, June 28, 2007
The four Florida State University football prospects who were kicked out of Downtown Disney for loitering last week and banned for life from Walt Disney World can now come back.
Disney World announced Thursday that it has decided to reduce the sanctions against the four high-schoolers, whose banishment last weekend amplified a controversy about Disney's recent efforts to reduce teen loitering and sparked accusations of racial profiling. All four of the students are 17 years old and black.
Disney officials, after talking with the mother of one of the teens, decided to revise the trespass warnings so that the four are banned only from Downtown Disney -- not from the theme parks, water parks or other parts of Disney World. And the Downtown Disney ban will last only for one year, not a lifetime.
That means that, shortly after they are ready to graduate from high school next spring -- they'll all be seniors this fall -- the ban will be lifted entirely.
But the families of the teens were uncertain Thursday how to respond to Disney's decision. One parent said they would discuss it and get back to Disney today.
"We were hoping they would lift the ban entirely. We felt like they shouldn't have been banned at all. We also wanted an apology," said Mark Nugent, the stepfather of Vincent Williams, a football star at Ridge Community High School in Polk County. "It looks like we're not getting either of those two things."
Final decision, not an offer
Disney has not changed its mind about the incident last Friday and is not contemplating an apology, spokeswoman Jacquee Polak said. She also said the move to reduce the sanctions was a final decision by the resort, not an offer.
Polak would not elaborate on what had emerged during discussions with the four teens' families that led Disney World to scale back its sanctions against the students, all of whom have given oral commitments to attend Florida State University in 2008.
"Our review of the incident has not changed our determination that the behavior of these four individuals was not appropriate," Polak said.
Crackdown on loitering
The four students -- who, in addition to Williams, also included Nigel Carr, Avis Commack and Nickolas Moody -- were kicked off Disney property as part of larger crackdown on youth loitering this month that has resulted in dozens of trespass warnings and banishments.
Polak said Thursday's decision does not affect the other trespass cases, though Disney could reconsider any case if asked.
Disney World had grown concerned this spring about teen loitering and the possibility of an emerging street-gang presence at Downtown Disney, a complex of stores, restaurants, nightclubs and shows.
So two weeks ago, Disney security officers, bolstered by Orange County sheriff's deputies, began a late-night crackdown on Fridays and Saturdays, hoping to drive out loitering youth before trouble could begin.
Those youths who cannot convince Disney security officers that they have a good reason to be in Downtown Disney late at night are told to leave; those who then refuse to do so are issued trespass warnings banning them from Disney World for life and are expelled from the property.
When the Orlando Sentinel obtained 46 Disney World trespass-warning documents from the past two weekends, all but one turned out to have been issued to black or Hispanic visitors.
That led some of the family members, including Nugent and a Philadelphia-based civil-rights lawyer -- Adrian J. Moody, father of Nickolas, one of the other four football players, Nickolas Moody -- to openly question whether Disney's security was using racial profiling to target and drive out minority youth.
The elder Moody, however, sounded encouraged Thursday by Disney's response.
"That makes me feel a little better," he said. "I think they should give these kids some kind of an apology, but I need to look into this more."
Disney has maintained that the crackdown has been aimed at loitering youth and possible gang members regardless of ethnicity or race. The four players who were banned late last Friday had loitered for more than an hour, responded inappropriately to security officers, and refused to leave when told to go, Disney officials have said.
Sheriff's Office concurs
The sheriff's office has backed the resort up and agreed Thursday that the incident had been handled properly.
"The Orange County Sheriff's Office from the very beginning of this case took appropriate action at the request of Walt Disney World and issued proper trespass warnings," sheriff's Capt. Mark Strobridge said. "It is and remains Walt Disney World's decision to set the guidelines and enforce trespass warnings as they see fit."
Polak would not elaborate on what had emerged during discussions with the four teens' families that led Disney World to scale back its sanctions against the students, all of whom have given oral commitments to attend Florida State University in 2008.
There is no formal appeals process for lifetime trespass bans, but the company does review trespass warnings and listens whenever people want to discuss them, Polak said.
Other people who think they have been unfairly banished from the resort can always call and ask to discuss their cases, she said. She suggested people could start with the Disney World general switchboard, 407-824-2222.
Scott Powers can be reached at spowers@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5441. Henry Pierson Curtis can be reached at 407-420-5257 or hcurtis@orlandosentinel.com.
