Exactly how did it get to this point? - Teri Rhodes“Never can we avert every tragedy. They are a part of life. But we can and should learn from them, deal compassionately with those who are hurting and double our efforts to offer support to those who are in crisis.” — A statement issued by Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa.
The district attorney from Erie, Pennsylvania took five weeks to charge 19-year-old Teri Rhodes with homicide. A month and a week after she gave birth to and "allegedly" suffocated her newborn baby daughter, Rhodes sat in a courtroom with bloodshot eyes and arms wrapped around her body, as she was read the charges against her. No need to repeat the charges here, you have read them all- over and over again.
I have too much in common with the Rhodes family to not be following this story closely. I too, have daughters that play volleyball in the Catholic League and they have aspirations to play college ball. My heart breaks to see the rest of Teri's life be ripped away from her because of this horrendous mistake. On the other hand, I was adopted at birth and feel a deep sense of devastation and sadness for her baby girl who only had 10 minutes to live in this world.
I can't help to wonder where I would be if my birth-mother had made such a mistake.
Teri was a fabulous setter at Ladywood High School in Livonia and both Teri and her family are well known in southeast Michigan volleyball circles. Teri played for the Motorcity Volleyball club before it became Michigan Elite and her younger sisters are still involved in volleyball here in Michigan.
What went wrong and was there a chance, somewhere along the line, to save both Teri and her baby? Why did Teri Rhodes choose to keep her pregnancy a secret? Secrets are powerful and dangerous for youth. How could she have spent the entire summer at her parents home and they not have known that she was pregnant?
Rhodes managed to hide her pregnancy from her parents, her sisters and her friends. Still, there were people in Teri Rhodes’ life who knew something was wrong. Rhodes’ assistant volleyball coach suspected pregnancy and asked Rhodes to take a pregnancy test, which she did on August 11.
The test, she said, was negative.
But if we only study the time before Teri Rhodes gave birth to her baby daughter and the time that she was pregnant, we haven't come close to how far back we need to look to find these answers.
I am sure that Terri Rhodes will become a target for many people to voice their personal opinions regarding abortion, sex education, college athletes and abstinence.
When do we stop debating over these things and start to figure out how we keep lives from ending like this?
The story of Teri Rhodes is heartbreaking. Many of us will be crying over the next few weeks - but none as hard as Teri and her family.
What exactly did you not understand about "Thou Shalt Not Kill"?
Labels: homicide, ladywood volleyball, mercyhurst, michigan elite, pregnancy, rhodes, teri rhodes
