Christopher S. Bond Court House in Jefferson City
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A Cooper County grandmother has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Otterville R-VI School District and its superintendent unlawfully banned her from attending her grandchildren’s sporting events in retaliation for protected speech, violating her First Amendment rights.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri’s Central Division on Nov. 25, details a series of escalating conflicts between plaintiff Teni Northern and Superintendent Dan Kruse over social media posts, e-mails, and her presence at both home and away games.
According to the filing, Northern is the grandmother of three students enrolled in the district: D.R.M., a high school junior who plays volleyball, basketball and softball; D.N., a seventh-grader who participates in archery, basketball, softball and volleyball; and C.N., a sixth-grader who plays football and basketball.
Northern states that she attends all of their games whenever possible and is often the only family member present to support them.
The lawsuit states that tensions began on or around Sept. 15, when Northern sent a Facebook Messenger message to volleyball coach Mackenzie Crosswhite about coaching matters.
The two had previously communicated through Messenger, but the school superintendent reprimanded Northern two days later, despite the complaint noting that her message was neither threatening nor abusive.
Northern responded with an explanation that a group of parents had recently met about the coach and said she was attempting to be helpful, but Kruse remained angry and ultimately arranged a meeting with Northern and Athletic Director Kate Wittman.
At that meeting, held around Sept. 23, Northern was banned from attending varsity volleyball games for her eldest granddaughter.
She “had to beg,” according to the complaint, for permission to attend junior high games for her younger granddaughter. When she asked about attending away games, Wittman allegedly told her that the district did not have the authority to bar her from those events.
The complaint alleges that Kruse nevertheless attempted to enforce the ban beyond district boundaries. It states that Kruse contacted administrators in other districts and asserted authority to prevent Northern from attending games played there.
On Sept. 25, when the teams played at Green Ridge, Kruse told Northern that although she could attend the junior high game, she was “not supposed to be on the varsity side,” and said administrators could ask her to leave any away game they attended. He ultimately allowed her to stay for the varsity match but required her to stand next to him.
The conflict widened after Northern made a general Facebook post several days later that did not reference any school, team, player, coach or sport, she claims.
According to the complaint, much of the district staff, including the volleyball coaches, were blocked from viewing the post.
Nonetheless, Kruse called Northern the following morning to tell her she was now banned from junior high games as well because of the post, preventing her from watching either granddaughter play volleyball.
Northern appealed the ban at the Board of Education’s Oct. 15 meeting, but Kruse informed her the next day that the board had upheld his decision.
That same evening, when Northern delivered a forgotten uniform to her granddaughter at an away game in Lincoln, Kruse allegedly became furious that she had gone to the venue.
On Oct. 17, he sent her a written notice prohibiting her from attending any sporting event in which the district was a participant for the remainder of the 2025–26 school year.
He later revised the letter to limit the prohibition to Jan. 1, 2026, but Northern claims she has no assurance the ban will not resume afterward.
Northern claims she was also prevented from participating in the volleyball team’s senior night ceremony with an athlete she had introduced to sports.
The complaint notes that none of the conduct that prompted the district’s actions occurred at any school event or facility, but rather through e-mails and social media.
The only conduct at games that drew complaints, the filing states, was her continued attendance at away games after the district claimed she was barred.
The lawsuit argues that Northern’s speech was not threatening, disruptive, or otherwise unprotected and that the district’s actions were not reasonable or viewpoint-neutral as required under First Amendment standards for limited public forums.
Northern asserts that she poses no threat of disorder, riot, obstruction or public safety concerns and that the ban has caused her to miss all of her grandchildren’s volleyball games from mid-October through the end of the season, as well as current basketball games.
Northern seeks a temporary restraining order, preliminary and permanent injunctions lifting the ban, compensatory and nominal damages, attorney’s fees and costs. She is represented by Daniel J. Rhoads of The Rhoads Law Firm in St. Louis.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, Central Division case number: 2:25-cv-04269
