We are disappointed in how the Marion wrestling coach, superintendent of schools and two school board members reacted to last week’s news about why two student-athletes were allowed to compete in a state tournament days after being jailed.

We, like the school district, are concerned about the two students involved. But we are also concerned about what message is being sent to the other students.

Students need to learn that when they make mistakes — and everyone does from time to time — they must accept responsibility and the consequences. Seeing adults trying to divert blame onto the media gets in the way of this important lesson.

A letter to the editor accuses us, without specifics, of misreporting the facts. We categorically deny that. Our reports came from police, court and school officials.

What really seems to anger the employees and board members is that the story was reported in the first place. A school board member voiced that sentiment at a meeting Monday. A second suggested that other students had been involved in similar incidents with no publicity and that the news coverage on these two was unduly harsh.

The students in this case were legally adults. Their arrests were public record and were reported first not in our newspaper but in one from out of town. We merely followed up by asking a question that was on the lips of many local residents: How did school policy allow them to compete after being arrested?

Blaming the media is a popular sport, but it comes at the risk of teaching students that others bear more responsibility for their actions than they do.