Fla. ‘mean girls’ iced
Over teammate suicide
Three Florida cyberbullies have been suspended from their hockey league after they allegedly relentlessly bullied a teammate who then committed suicide, according to a report.
McKenna Brown (inset), 16, took her own life in August after she began talking to one of her friends’ former boyfriends — which prompted the would-be pal and some other girls to taunt and harass her, her mother, Cheryl Brown, told Dr. Phil on his talk show this week.
Now the unidentified girls have been suspended from a Florida hockey league because of their alleged bullying, the Daily Mail reported Saturday.
McKenna was a star athlete who hoped to play women’s hockey at the University of South Florida. She was one day away from starting her last year at East Lake High in Tarpon Springs when she killed herself Aug. 7.
“She left a letter that was very thoughtful and didn’t call any of these people out,” her mother told Dr. Phil. “I knew it had something to do with these girls.”
She and her husband later “pieced together” what allegedly led McKenna to kill herself, Brown told Dr. Phil.
The alleged bullies reportedly leaked personal information about McKenna, including that she had been raped at 14, in order to “humiliate and embarrass her,” her mother said.
Other text messages, obtained by Fox 13, showed one of the girls messaged McKenna: “You have done all of us so wrong” and “I hope I never see you again.”
She also was sent lengthy messages and was bombarded by other girls, including one message that reportedly said they “wanted to leave her without a single friend.”
The worst of the bullies even showed up at McKenna’s funeral, claims Brown, who believes the aggressor is “unremorseful.”
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.