Posted on 07/15/2005 1:30:21 PM PDT by sammycook
PITTSBURGH — A youth baseball coach paid one of his players to hurt an 8-year-old mentally disabled teammate so the boy wouldn't be able to play in a game, state police said Friday.
Mark R. Downs Jr. (search), 27, of Dunbar, offered one of his players $25 to hit the boy in the head with a baseball, police said. Witnesses told police Downs didn't want the boy to play in the T-ball game because of his disability.
The solicited player hit the boy in the head and in the groin with a baseball just before a game, and the disabled boy didn't play, police said.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/4728564/detail.html
The injured boy's mother was suspicious, so she approached the player who threw the ball and he told her about the coach's payment offer, Broadwater said.
Downs, 27, of Dunbar, was charged Friday with criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, corruption of minors and reckless endangerment. He is free on bond and faces a preliminary hearing on July 28.
I feel so bad for this kid. There is no need for this type of behavior at all. I think that this guy and I would have some words if he tried doing this to my son.
Wonder what he'd say if someone pulled a knife and jammed it into his gut one game. I bet he'd like some fair play.
If you can't win based on skill and within the rules, then what's the thrill of "winning"? Unfortunately, "winning" has been defined wrong these days, and I see it very strongly in the business community--for many people, every rule can be bent and every dirty trick is fine as long as you're not caught.
They need to dig him a new home in hell
I wonder how many of the dads would have chipped into the pot for this. There are more nuts out there than you might realize.
>>Not a fun job hurting someone, but it was part of my job description.<<
No it wasn't, as you clearly state you played dirty (i.e., against the rules).
How sure are we the kid didn't hit the other boy with the ball and then start blaiming the coach when he started to get in trouble for it ?
I'm reserving judgement here.
If he did it he should be flayed.
Total f-cking scumbag. Bring him to me.
Both.
You can break the rules and play dirty, you can also play by the rules and still play dirty.
Which reminds me of something I told my team captain one year, "Just because I am allowed to, does it really mean I should?".
Absolutely loathesome and deserving of the appropriate punishment. If the kid's dad can't mete it out, I'd be glad to.
If this coach did this to my kid, he'd wish that was all he got when I got through with him.
Post 50 was in context of your observation; >>I told my team captain one year, "Just because I am allowed to, does it really mean I should?".<<
Good question and demonstrates a concept of right and wrong.
The coaches and the kids want to win games.
To win games, every player/person must be teachable/coachable, sometimes players/coaches become "frustrated and srike-out" emotionally/physically.
If the kid couldn't play (worth a damn) and IF he was disrupting/disruptive (does the kid understand, the games' rules?) the training and coaching of the team, one could see why this "really stupid event" occurred...the parents should not be using the game as a cause for a lawsuit...flame away, if you must..JMO
While at West Point, Eisenhower was sent into a football game specifically to hurt Jim Thorpe.
Well, it's still early, but I think I can safely say this gets the dumbest post of the year award.
There is absolutely, positively NO REASON to pay a kid to assault another kid. So no, I can't see "why this 'really stupid event' occurred".
And what lawsuit are you talking about?
..just waiting for the other "shoe" to drop, symptomatic of the American Legal System....someone will file a lawsuit. :(
Do your knuckles drag a lot when you walk?
Yes. ...and I have a continuous hairy eyebrows, too...any more "questions". :P
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.