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DETROIT NATIVE SUN
DETROIT NATIVE SUN
By Sincere Z. L.
SPECIAL TO THE SUN
My name is Sincere, and I am 10 years old. I am a lineman on the Motor City Wolverines, a PAL football team. I’m announcing my retirement from PAL because of the lies and abuse of players. At first, I wanted to quit football and play another sport, but my mom told me not to give up. I’ve decided to continue my career at the Boys and Girls Club and N-Zone.
When I was four, I was placed into foster care with my four siblings. My older brother and I were placed together in the same house. We were taken away from my biological mother because she and her boyfriend abused us. I remember being put into a tub of hot water, then cold water, and being beaten butt naked. We were locked in a bedroom and told not to leave. We were beaten for wetting our pants, even though they said we couldn’t leave the room to go to the bathroom.
Now, I’m in a home that gives me something I didn’t have with my biological mother, “love.” My new mom adopted me and my brother four years ago. She works two and sometimes three jobs to give us everything. We’ve gone to Disney World, Disneyland, Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari, Cedar Point, SeaWorld, and other cool places. My mom has never spanked me, although she threatens to do so when we’re bad. But, I do get grounded a lot.
My mom spends a lot of money on sports. My brother plays basketball in the Junior NBA and N-Zone. I play football. She spent $275, so I can play on the Wolverines.
Coach Chez Chambers was allegedly fired for abusing kids. The team mom, Keisha, told my mom that he abused me, but it’s not true. He did make me do bear crawls, which I hate to do. Remember, I’m an expert on child abuse. The team director, Ms. Rodalyn Gartner-Damerson, makes us practice at a public playground in hot weather when there’s a heat advisory. They tell us to take off our helmets, as if that will help. I’m surprised that I didn’t have a stroke. They also made us practice when there was an air quality warning. Now, that’s abuse. My mom kept me at home. I think the Wolverines are more concerned with winning a championship, like we did in 2023, than keeping players healthy.
A lot of players quit the team when Coach Chez left. I don’t think that we have enough players to make up a team.
“I never saw Coach Chez abuse anyone. He never abused me,” Carter, a former Wolverines player, said.
His grandmother, Mrs. “Auntie Boo” Dickerson, said, “Coach Chez hasn’t been anything but a stand up coach to me. I gave my money to Keisha and got a refund. They said he slapped a boy upside the head. As a grandparent, you notice things with your kids. Carter would have said he didn’t want to go to football. He would have distance himself, and then I would ask him why, if he was abused.”
I want to quit, too, but Ms. Gartner-Damerson won’t give me a refund. My mom sent my money to Coach Chez via Cash App. He said my money was included in the $900 he turned in from fundraising. My mom wants to sue, but it takes a long time. I asked if I could write this article and publish it in the newspaper. I’m taking my story to the media to try to get my money back.
My mom called, left messages, and sent an email to PAL’s Deputy Athletic Director Karen Hall. She finally answered when my mom called a third time, but she was no help. My mom said she told her that I was going to write a story about PAL and publish it in the newspaper. She pretty much told my mom to do whatever she wanted to do, but she couldn’t help. One thing about my mom is that she always keeps her word. She sat me down and had me dictate my story while she typed.
So here it is. Next, I’m taking my story to the problem-solvers. We don’t have money to waste, and I need it to join a new team.
By Valerie D. Lockhart
SUN EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Slowly and cautiously Katarina Brown guides her disabled daughter Chassidy’s wheelchair down a ramp onto a sidewalk, as her daughter cradles her 3-month old twin sons in each arm.
“Watch the bump,” Chassidy yells out. “I don’t want to tip over and hurt my babies. The sidewalk is uneven up ahead.”
Brown’s family lives in Ralph Bunche Cooperative near downtown Detroit. The complex’s parking lots are riddled with potholes, crumbled cement curves, and uneven sidewalks. There is no handicapped parking, and Brown has to push her daughter down to the end of the parking lot dodging potholes and back around to get into their vehicle.
Members own a percentage of their dwelling and are accessed a monthly Home Owners Association fee of nearly $900 that includes water, gas, heat, mechanical repairs, and grounds maintenance.
“I asked the previous board for permission to level the ground in the back of my property with cement to accommodate a wheelchair ramp, so that my daughter can enter and exit our home safely. My request was approved by the board,” Brown said. “I paid for a company to come out and pour the concrete. I also got permission from the city of Detroit to extend the pathway down to sidewalk that the city owns.”
After making the modification, Brown was served with an eviction notice and banned from the coop’s office who refused to accept her HOA payment.
A complaint was filed with the Fair Housing Act working in partnership with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that is celebrating its 35-year anniversary on July 26.
“The point of the ADA is not disability – it is discrimination. The ADA is a mandate for equality,” Robert Burgdorf Jr., Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of the District of Columbia’s David A. Clarke School of Law, who played an essential role in writing the initial ADA legislation, said.
Violations to ADA standards come with hefty fines.
“Businesses and cities found to be in violation face a $75,000 fine for the first incident and $150,000 for any additional failures to comply,” the ADA noted on their website. “A person with a disability may request the HOA to make reasonable accommodations or modifications for them. A reasonable accommodation is a change or adjustment to a rule or policy that will allow the person with a disability to use and enjoy a dwelling in a manner equal to everyone else. An example of this is when a disabled person asks the association to make changes to its parking rules to provide them with better access. On the other hand, a reasonable modification is a structural change to a dwelling or space that will allow a person with a disability full enjoyment of the premises. An example of this is installing a wheelchair ramp at various entrances or widening doorways to allow a wheelchair-bound person easier access to facilities. Failure to make a reasonable accommodation or modification can put the association in trouble with the law.”
Ralph Bunche’s association board failed to respond to email and telephone messages questioning Brown receiving an eviction notice for making and paying for a needed modification. Diamond Searcy, president, rudely hung up the phone then forwarded other calls to voicemail when the Detroit Native Sun informed her of our investigation.
Spectrum Legal Services, of Southfield, is planning to file a lawsuit against Ralph Bunche’s property management and board in response to the notice and ADA violations.
“Persons with a disability should have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy their home or common space like everyone else,” the law firm said. “Failing to install and maintain an ADA compliant sidewalk or curb ramp slope that allows safer access to public areas is a human right. Crumbling stairs, steep curbs, and broken sidewalks create a trip hazard for everyone who uses them. For those with poor vision or use a walker or wheelchair, they are an obstacle to safe access and present added risk of accident and injury.”
Maneuvering her daughter’s wheelchair across a grassy lawn onto a sidewalk, and through the parking lot, Brown swirls around a large hole.
“It would be so much easier if the management company would fix the curve in front of our house. I’m unable to use the portable ramp, because of the potential danger,” Brown said. “My daughter has already endured multiple surgeries and an unexpected pregnancy with twins. It would be nice, if she was able to come and go with ease and be able to use the outdoor fitness center or go to the neighborhood market. Simple things such as entering and leaving your home is taken for granted. The HOA and management would have a change of heart, if they could walk in our shoes for one day. I pay the same fees as everyone else and have the right to enjoy the same services. Having a disability doesn’t lessen our ability to perform everyday tasks with accessibility.”
