Jay GreesonOn Monday, as two coaches and the school's athletic director sat through a preliminary hearing, the roller coaster of rage came to a new stop.
Monday was when Gatlinburg Detective Rodney Burns took the stand and everything started to spin on its axis.
He described the assault as "something stupid kids do."
Say what? This was a pool cue up a 15-year-old's rectum to the point surgery was required.
Stealing some candy or breaking curfew or cheating on a test is something stupid kids may do. Sexual assault damaging enough to need surgery is so far beyond "something stupid" that it's hard to fathom.
When Burns testified, his words were met with hushed silence. The collective thought in the courtroom - even those supporting the defendants - was "Did he really just say that?" Burns came across as part John Goodman as the football coach in "Revenge of the Nerds," part "Cannon" from the old TV show and part Lenny from "Mice and Men." It was that bad.
He used phrases like "boys will be boys" and declared that he didn't believe it was rape because there was no sexual gratification in the act.
It was surreal.
Kudos to Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston for calling in state authorities to try to figure out what was behind Burns' ramblings. Remember, this is a guy who refuted the media's reports about the incident, which for the most part were based on the police report. Care to guess who wrote the police report?
Yep, good ol' Detective Burns.
Maybe he was absent the day they taught police work at the police school.
Funny hat vs. funny hair
OK, let's break it down, the latest high-powered face-off, tale-of-the-tape-style.
In this corner, representing Catholicism around the globe, from Vatican City, the pope.
In the other corner, representing capitalistic condescension everywhere, from New York City, the Donald.
The pope has the edge in holiness. The Donald has the edge in hostility.
When the pope was elected, there was white smoke. If the Donald gets elected, there will likely be white flags of surrender.
This not-so-little confrontation between not-so-subtle personalities started when the pope questioned Donald Trump's Christianity over his "build a wall" plan to deal with immigration.
The Donald bristled, saying it's "disgraceful" for a religious leader to question someone's faith.
OK. But isn't the Grand pope-bah kind of charged with questioning the faith of millions? He's the leader of one of the world's biggest religions, and if there was one person who has a hotline to God, wouldn't it be the pope?
Of course, isn't Trump the one guy on the planet who thinks the pope's hotline rings to the penthouse at Trump Towers?
Palmetto bugs
GOP primary voters in South Carolina head to the polls today.
It's a crazy time in presidential politics. Maybe the most insane ever.
The front-runner of the conservative party is fighting with the leader of the Catholic church. Ted Cruz is warring with everyone, especially the truth. Marco Rubio is trying to overcome what, sadly, has been overblown to look like the worst single Republican answer since Bush I said "No new taxes."
Jeb Bush is campaigning with his brother, which four years ago would have been a "Saturday Night Live" skit.
Plus, aren't we all expecting at some point that John Kasich is going to go all "Network" meltdown?
(And all of those are still better than Hillary and Bernie, the Democratic version of the oddest of couples.)
School bored
OK, the mess that Rick Smith is leaving is deep. And pricey.
There's no consensus among school board members about whether - or how - to handle Smith's departure as superintendent.
Here's a suggestion: Start with broad questions.
Does Rick need to go? In my mind, yes. And, as much respect as we have for Joe Galloway and all he has accomplished, he was unconvincing in his argument that Smith should stay.
Settlement or pink slip? This one really comes down to cost analysis. Is it going to be cheaper to pay him the $269,000 or to fight to fire him in court?
Then move on to questions about an interim superintendent - from inside the school system or outside - and, finally, next steps.
Saturday's star
Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond has instituted a plan to try to better connect his officers and deputies with local school students.
Hammond unveiled the project at Red Bank High School this week.
"I think there is a general trend, especially among teenagers, to think police are the enemy," Hammond told students this week (as reported by this paper's police reporter Shelly Bradbury).
Kudos, Sheriff, especially now. As we look with disbelief at the inexplicable behavior of Detective Burns and with recognition that our students need help in feeling safe right now, Sheriff Hammond is answering both bells.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com. His "Right to the Point" column runs on A2 on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.