Petition requests Youngstown State remove convicted rapist from football team

In 2013, Ma’lik Richmond was one of two football players from Steubenville High School in Ohio to be convicted of raping a 16-year old high school girl. Today, he is currently a Youngstown State football player, unless an online petition gains enough traction to change that.

An online petition on Change.org started by Katelyn Davis of Ohio and a student at Youngstown State, is asking Youngstown State head coach Bo Pelini and president Jim Tressel to remove Richmond from the football program.

From the online petition;

Now, in 2017, as YSU students prepare to return to school and spend fall nights watching their football team play, there is a huge problem. That problem is that Richmond will be on the field, playing a game. He will be representing the university and all that it stands for. President Tressel and Coach Pelini, are you more concerned with your football team’s status than the disgusting rape of a young girl?

The petition goes on to say Richmond is deserving of a second chance and explains the demand is only to have Richmond not be a part of the football program.

Does he deserve a second chance? Yes, he does, and he is receiving that second chance by furthering his education on YSU’s campus. Does he deserve the privilege of playing on a football team and representing a university? Absolutely not. Education is a right, whereas playing on a sports team is not.

As of the time of this posting, the petition is fewer than 1,000 digital signatures away from the target goal of 7,500 signatures before being presented to Pelini and Tressel.

Richmond was released from juvenile prison in 2014 after completing his sentence. Richmond has been registered as a juvenile sex offender.

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