Monkey Court – Texas Longhorn Coach and Girlfriend Sued for Pet Monkey Bite
You have probably heard this story by now.
Back on Halloween, the pet monkey of Texas Longhorn assistant coach Jeff Banks bit a child on the hand. A lawsuit has been brought against coach Jeff Banks and his girlfriend Danielle Thomas over the incident.
The child was at Bank's residence to attend a haunted house. The child was "taken to the monkey" that was allegedly trained to give high-fives. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:
According to the lawsuit, obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the child identified as C.C. and two of his friends were invited to attend a haunted house set up by Thomas at her home on Oct. 31. The three were “taken to a monkey” in the backyard that was trained to give high-fives, which C.C. then attempted to do. “Instead of giving a high five, Danielle Thomas’ monkey aggressively bit down on C.C.’s hand and refused to let go,” the lawsuit says. “C.C. was forced to manually pry the monkey’s jaw open. There was so much blood that C.C. was unable to see the full extent of the injury.”
According to the Star-Telegram and the lawsuit, the child was treated and cleaned by a physician who lived in the neighborhood.
It's good to know that the child that was bitten is okay. I can't imagine what it was like for that kid at the moment he was bitten. I don't know anything about training monkeys, but most people who train them keep them away from people the monkey does not know. Maybe the owner of this monkey is culpable for having it near a child it did not know.
What do you think?