I just read an article in Sports Illustrated about a Tee-ball little league team. Tee-ball is like baseball but for younger kids, who hit a stationary baseball off a waist high tee instead of facing down a pitcher.
On one Tee-ball team in particular was an 8-year old autistic boy, who I'll call Freddy (not his real name, and if you like stories with happy endings stop reading here) and Freddy's team had made it into the Tee-ball playoffs for their league.
Tee-ball has a participatory rule which states that every player who shows up must be allowed to bat in at least three innings.
Freddy's coach was a little concerned about this rule and Freddy causing his team to lose the playoffs, so he asked everyone on the team not to tell Freddy about the upcoming game;
Freddy's mom found out and turned up anyway.
Freddy's mom found out and turned up anyway.
Coach couldn't ask Freddy's mom to keep him out of the game, that wouldn't be right, but it was apparently ok for Coach to pair up Freddy with Reggy (not his real name), one of the hardest pitchers on their team, for a warm-up session immediately before the game.
Coach was also ok with offering Reggie $25 to take Freddy out, and I don't mean for pizza and a movie.
Reggie's first pitch hit the 8-year old Freddy in the groin, sending him in tears to his mother. When Freddy's mom encouraged him to get back in and keep playing, Coach approached Reggie and told him to hit Freddy even harder.
Reggie's next pitch hit Freddy in the side of the head, drawing blood. Coach then approached Freddy and told him the balls must be after him that day and perhaps he should sit out the game. Freddy refused to play and his team won.
Coach never paid Reggie his $25 and claims he never made such an offer. Reggie's father says he did.
So you have a little league Coach willing to bribe one of his young players to seriously injure a slightly disabled team mate just to win a game.
Now I said this story doesn't have a happy ending, but that's only because the court case against Coach hasn't yet been decided. Charged with aggravated assault, conspiring to cause injury, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and a few other things, Coach insists he's done nothing wrong and his attorney claims he's being vilified.
And we have people like this acting as role models to our children. Then again the Major League players, Coach's role models, take steroids and other illegal performance enhancement drugs just to win games, and then they lie about it, even in court. MLB should offer Coach a contract, it seems he'd fit right in.
I found an update on ESPN's website.
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3 comments:
Sounds to bad to be true, sure its not an urban myth?
You'll find this http://lafd.blogspot.com/ interesting, LA D Fire Dept is bloggin.
Sorry, Lyndon, it's not an Urban Myth. Parents and coaches take their sports, even little leagues, very seriously here in the U.S.
Xinh, from the article, to me it sounded like Reggie's Dad was more upset that his son didn't get the $25, but I could have just read it the wrong way.
I am so mad it's not funny. I have played sports my entire life and know that winning is something that some get to be so consumed but when I heard about this is made me sick and angry.
I should note that I am the son of a 4 year old autistic boy and if that ever happened to my son... I would lose it - I am not the violent kind but this would be IT!
I know the expression of innocent until proven guilty but how could anyone invent or imagine such a story. Give me 5 minutes and a dozen baseballs and let's see how coach likes a 90MPH fast ball to his groin and head!
I am soory if I am coming off as being barbaric but at the end of the day - it may be all that this SOB will learn.
Makes me so sick!!!!!
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