Coach at Center of Notorious ’90s Concussion Case Oversees Concussion Safety for SD Schools
Mario Koran
VOSD
February 10, 2015
As Escondido High’s football coach, Bruce Ward played an already injured athlete who suffered a second, catastrophic injury. Now, he oversees San Diego Unified’s sports safety protocols, including those for concussions.
On Oct. 2, 1992, Escondido High was desperate for a win.
In three games the team hadn’t notched a victory. And in the week leading up to the game against San Marcos High, a group of players, frustrated with coaches, walked away from the team.
Vu Dang, then a 17-year-old, 160-pound Escondido senior, stepped up to fill the gaps. In addition to starting at wide receiver, his coach, Bruce Ward, made the decision to put him back to return punts and kickoffs. He wasn’t big or blazingly fast, but had a quick first-step.
Now 40, Dang remembers catching a punt and heading up field – and then, the impact. He was hit by a wall of defenders. That’s when the lights went out.
The rest he’s pieced together from what teammates later told him: He immediately tore off his helmet, his eyes rolled back in his head, he lost consciousness and stopped breathing. His mother rushed onto the field and collapsed when she saw her son.
“We lost Vu Dang twice on the field and once more in the ambulance. We performed CPR on the field and again in the ambulance. He was gone, and we were able to bring him back,” San Marcos’ athletic trainer later said.
Dang was taken by ambulance to Palomar Medical Center. There, doctors found bleeding on the right side of his brain. While treating Dang’s immediate trauma, they also discovered an older, subdural hematoma – a blood clot between the brain and skull – which they said could have been about a week old.
In fact, Dang had gotten a concussion in a game the week before.
In that game against Temecula Valley, he caught a quick pass and a defender hit Dang underneath his facemask. The impact was so hard he was lifted off his feet.
“I knew I was rocked. When I got up off the ground my body was tingling,” Dang said about the first concussion.
Escondido’s athletic trainer knew about his first concussion. So did Ward, the team’s head coach. But his parents didn’t because nobody ever told them, legal documents allege.
Doctors called it a “second-impact syndrome” a second, catastrophic concussion that occurs before symptoms from the first have subsided.
Put simply, Dang should have never played against San Marcos. Why he did was set to be hashed out by legal teams, and is documented by court records. But before the case went to trial, the parties settled out of court.
Dang eventually recovered. He suffered long-term brain damage and struggled with memory loss after the injury. He struggled in areas where he’d once excelled, like high-level math. He left college after his grades fell too low to maintain an academic scholarship, and he drifted between low-paying jobs for several years. He now owns a yoga studio with his wife in Escondido.
As for the coach, Ward left Escondido and in 2000 was hired by San Diego Unified. Today, Ward is the district’s director of physical education, health and interscholastic athletics.
Ward is paid just under $128,000 a year to oversee the daily operations of the district’s athletic programs. He’s the point person for making sure all coaches in the district are properly trained and following safety protocols – including those for concussions.
The District’s Man on Concussions
Despite the increased awareness, many California school districts, including San Diego Unified, can’t say how many football-related concussions they’ve seen in recent years. District spokesperson Ursula Kroemer said the district has a system that allows its nursing team to record injuries, but that it doesn’t have a means to document the circumstances around an injury.
But Kroemer couldn’t even say how widely that system was used, or whether schools are required to report injuries through it. So while there have been 135 concussions since September 2013, the district can’t say how many of those were related to athletics.
Ward is the “overall-point person” for making sure coaches are certified and teams are following safety protocols, according to the district. Yet, 20 years ago, a lawsuit blamed his leadership for traumatic brain injuries suffered by one of his players...
But in 2007, he spoke to the Union-Tribune about Dang’s injury. In that story, Ward acknowledged that he had concerns about Dang’s first concussion when he decided to play him in the second game against San Marcos.
“We were playing San Marcos in a game we felt was going to be a battle of field position. Vu was a good receiver with good hands. But we took him off the offense and put him on the field to return punts. He was instructed to catch the ball. Fair catch everything to save the offense some yards. We didn’t want him to run. But he was young, caught the ball, decided to run, and he was injured,” he told the paper.
But Dang said that wasn’t true. In fact, because the team was unexpectedly short-handed, Ward had actually increased his workload for the San Marcos game.
Ward shifted blame onto Dang, saying he had ignored coaches’ instructions. The decision to play him, however, was a serious risk no matter what instructions Dang received.
The Trial That Never Happened
The Union Tribune reported that Dang had seen a doctor before the San Marcos game and had been cleared to play. But court records obtained by VOSD put that claim in serious dispute.
In fact, it was the basis of the lawsuit Dang’s family eventually filed against three defendants: Bruce Ward and the Escondido Union High School District, Riddell, a helmet manufacturer, and North County & Escondido Physical Therapy, Inc., the company contracted by the school to provide athletic trainer services.
The trial was sure to be an ugly, finger-pointing circle. The attorneys representing North County & Escondido Physical Therapy said the athletic trainer warned Ward that Dang was injured and recommended he not play. The school denied that conversation ever took place.
Court records show the arguments each side was prepared to make.
The athletic trainer blamed Ward for creating a “Texas football,” “win-at-all costs” culture. Journal entries the trainer’s attorneys submitted as evidence include descriptions of Ward calling kids “lazy” and yelling at them not to visit the athletic trainer if they wanted to make the team...
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Showing posts with label football. Show all posts
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Monday, January 05, 2015
La Jolla High Football Coaches Point Fingers After Student’s Brain Injury
La Jolla High Football Coaches Point Fingers After Student’s Brain Injury
Mario Koran
Jan. 5, 2015
...An assistant coach for the La Jolla High School football team denies that he insisted a 17-year-old player stay in a game after the student asked to be removed. The player now has a devastating brain injury that ended his playing days and threatens to derail his schooling. The assistant coach was suspended.
...The student has only been back to school one day and he could not make it through the entire day. He faces chronic migraines, sensitivity to light and must be constantly supervised.
It’s been more than three months since a 17-year-old football player at La Jolla High School suffered a concussion during a game and he has not been back at school for a full day since then...
Regardless, state athletic rules mandate training for all coaches to identify possible head injuries. Players have to be immediately removed from a game after any suspected concussion and they are only allowed back after a medical professional provides written clearance for them to return...
Mario Koran
Jan. 5, 2015
...An assistant coach for the La Jolla High School football team denies that he insisted a 17-year-old player stay in a game after the student asked to be removed. The player now has a devastating brain injury that ended his playing days and threatens to derail his schooling. The assistant coach was suspended.
...The student has only been back to school one day and he could not make it through the entire day. He faces chronic migraines, sensitivity to light and must be constantly supervised.
It’s been more than three months since a 17-year-old football player at La Jolla High School suffered a concussion during a game and he has not been back at school for a full day since then...
Regardless, state athletic rules mandate training for all coaches to identify possible head injuries. Players have to be immediately removed from a game after any suspected concussion and they are only allowed back after a medical professional provides written clearance for them to return...
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
New Jersey school cancels football season amid criminal bullying probe
New Jersey school cancels football season amid criminal probe
SAYREVILLE, N.J. – The football
season at a storied New Jersey high school has been canceled amid
"significant and serious" allegations of harassment, intimidation and
bullying.
Sayreville Schools Superintendent Rich Labbe made the announcement late Monday during a meeting with the parents of football players. The development follows word of a criminal investigation by the county prosecutor, which Labbe said he could not discuss. Labbe says Prosecutor Andrew Carey told him there is credible evidence to indicate pervasive, wide-scale and generally accepted forms of harassment, intimidation and bullying within the program.
"We can set the standard right now for all kids, for all school districts in Middlesex County, in the state and in the nation that we are not going to stand around and allow kids to do this to one another," Labbe said. "We are going to start holding our students responsible for doing the right thing and reporting these kinds of behaviors."
The district canceled and forfeited a game that was scheduled last Friday. A criminal investigation is ongoing and details will not be released until its completed, authorities said.
Labbe said he could not discuss the future of the coaching staff, some of whom may face criminal charges. He announced last week that prosecutors were investigations allegations of a "significant and serious nature" within the program. The alleged victims and perpetrators have not been identified, he said.
"Right now our focus is on several things," Labbe said. "First and foremost, our focus is on the victims involved in this case. We want them and their parents to know that we are here for them and willing to do anything and everything to help so that they feel safe once again in our schools. Secondly, we do have to remember that this is a criminal investigation in which all parties are innocent until proven guilty. We also have to do everything in our power to cooperate with law enforcement, which primarily included staying out of their way."
Sayreville Athletics Director John Kohutanycz reportedly discussed the level of supervision school district officials provide for children before, during and after competitions and practices. Counselors have also been made available for any student who may have been impacted by the situation.
"We are standing up together as a Board of Education and as a district in saying no to bullying in Sayreville," Labbe said. "And we are inviting others to join us in our stance."
Also last week, an assistant football coach at the high school resigned amid allegations that he possessed steroids. Labbe said the allegations against the former defensive coordinator were the focus of a separate investigation and were not related to the cancellation of last week's game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sayreville Schools Superintendent Rich Labbe made the announcement late Monday during a meeting with the parents of football players. The development follows word of a criminal investigation by the county prosecutor, which Labbe said he could not discuss. Labbe says Prosecutor Andrew Carey told him there is credible evidence to indicate pervasive, wide-scale and generally accepted forms of harassment, intimidation and bullying within the program.
"We can set the standard right now for all kids, for all school districts in Middlesex County, in the state and in the nation that we are not going to stand around and allow kids to do this to one another," Labbe said. "We are going to start holding our students responsible for doing the right thing and reporting these kinds of behaviors."
"We are going to start holding our students responsible for doing the right thing and reporting these kinds of behaviors."- Schools Superintendent Rich LabbeSayreville's team has won three sectional titles over the past four years and is widely regarded as one of the state's top public school football programs. The Bombers string of 20 consecutive playoff appearances will now come to an end, The Home News Tribune reports.
The district canceled and forfeited a game that was scheduled last Friday. A criminal investigation is ongoing and details will not be released until its completed, authorities said.
Labbe said he could not discuss the future of the coaching staff, some of whom may face criminal charges. He announced last week that prosecutors were investigations allegations of a "significant and serious nature" within the program. The alleged victims and perpetrators have not been identified, he said.
"Right now our focus is on several things," Labbe said. "First and foremost, our focus is on the victims involved in this case. We want them and their parents to know that we are here for them and willing to do anything and everything to help so that they feel safe once again in our schools. Secondly, we do have to remember that this is a criminal investigation in which all parties are innocent until proven guilty. We also have to do everything in our power to cooperate with law enforcement, which primarily included staying out of their way."
Sayreville Athletics Director John Kohutanycz reportedly discussed the level of supervision school district officials provide for children before, during and after competitions and practices. Counselors have also been made available for any student who may have been impacted by the situation.
"We are standing up together as a Board of Education and as a district in saying no to bullying in Sayreville," Labbe said. "And we are inviting others to join us in our stance."
Also last week, an assistant football coach at the high school resigned amid allegations that he possessed steroids. Labbe said the allegations against the former defensive coordinator were the focus of a separate investigation and were not related to the cancellation of last week's game.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Discriminating against winning football team because of their race?
We finally have two sides to this story, thanks to a commenter (see below). Let's assume, for the sake of discussion, that everything the commenter says is true. (I must admit that I, too, was wondering how a team in lily-white Calabasas managed to have so many players of color.) It seems to me that we have a bit of a problem here with the white majority accusing the minority team of poor sportsmanship.
Even if the allegations of "loud and outspoken" parents and coaches are true, and even if there were penalties for "poor sportsmanship," it seems to be poor sportsmanship not to let the number one team into the playoffs. Obviously, the violations must not have been too serious, or there would have been penalties that would have caused games to be lost.
It seems that the real objection is that the minority players are simply better players, and that they don't match the demographic of the area. Apparently, if the players in question were white, the PYFL and Calabasas Raiders would have no argument at all. A white player could have been imported illegally, but no one has bothered to investigate the actual facts of the situation for either white or minority players.
It is obviously racist to refuse to allow a winning team into the playoffs based entirely on race.
Don't discriminate against winning football team because of their race
Pacific Youth Football League AND Calabasas Raiders: Let the Senior SIlver youth team play in their earned spot in the playoffs
Started by: Myla, Canoga Park, California
Change.org
Discrimination is unacceptable especially against children. This 13 year old predominantly African-American and Latino youth football team playing in a predominantly Caucasian league, has lost only one game in the season and is ranked #1 in their conference.
Playoffs start this Saturday and this team was told they are not welcome in the playoffs. Excuses such as poor sportsmanship, running up the score, etc. has been given, however, no coach or player has ever been suspended, ejected, or even verbally warned. There was no knowledge that there was even an issue, until the playoffs when they were told that their team is "SPOOKY" and too aggressive. This is TACKLE football and the word spooky is very insulting and ignorant and carries a racict connotation. These boys have played their hearts out all year and deserve to play. Please help us stand up for whats right and not allow money and power to be abused. Say no to racism and discrimination and let the Calabasas Raiders Senior Silver Team play in the playoffs where they belong.
Sign Myla's Petition
UPDATE OCT. 28, 2012
This comment was left by someone who seems to know something about the situation:
theothersideofthestory has left a new comment on your post "Discriminating against winning football team becau...":
Seriously...This team had many penalties for poor sportsmanship. Their coaches and parents, by there own admission, were loud and 'outspoken' on the sidelines, earning them many of those penalties while the boys supplied the rest. Another strange issue I find with this is; that the population of Calabasas is approximately about 1% African American, according to the sources I searched online. How is it possible for them to be able to field an almost entirely black team? There have been rumors floating around for years that they actually pull players in from LA all the way down to Orange County to stack their teams. The PYFL has specific territory rules, and my understanding is that they are not supposed to stack your teams even with what actually is your rightful pool of boys. The Playoffs are by invitation only, and if you don't play well with others, you don't get invited. Other teams from Lancaster, Palmdale other locations have, African American players in higher quantities (with their demographics backing it up-mind you) and they are in the playoffs. Cheaters and bad sports got caught at their game and now - guess what? They are being bad sports about it....shocking, don't you think???
It seems that the real objection is that the minority players are simply better players, and that they don't match the demographic of the area. Apparently, if the players in question were white, the PYFL and Calabasas Raiders would have no argument at all. A white player could have been imported illegally, but no one has bothered to investigate the actual facts of the situation for either white or minority players.
It is obviously racist to refuse to allow a winning team into the playoffs based entirely on race.
Don't discriminate against winning football team because of their race
Pacific Youth Football League AND Calabasas Raiders: Let the Senior SIlver youth team play in their earned spot in the playoffs
Started by: Myla, Canoga Park, California
Change.org
Discrimination is unacceptable especially against children. This 13 year old predominantly African-American and Latino youth football team playing in a predominantly Caucasian league, has lost only one game in the season and is ranked #1 in their conference.
Playoffs start this Saturday and this team was told they are not welcome in the playoffs. Excuses such as poor sportsmanship, running up the score, etc. has been given, however, no coach or player has ever been suspended, ejected, or even verbally warned. There was no knowledge that there was even an issue, until the playoffs when they were told that their team is "SPOOKY" and too aggressive. This is TACKLE football and the word spooky is very insulting and ignorant and carries a racict connotation. These boys have played their hearts out all year and deserve to play. Please help us stand up for whats right and not allow money and power to be abused. Say no to racism and discrimination and let the Calabasas Raiders Senior Silver Team play in the playoffs where they belong.
Sign Myla's Petition
UPDATE OCT. 28, 2012
This comment was left by someone who seems to know something about the situation:
theothersideofthestory has left a new comment on your post "Discriminating against winning football team becau...":
Seriously...This team had many penalties for poor sportsmanship. Their coaches and parents, by there own admission, were loud and 'outspoken' on the sidelines, earning them many of those penalties while the boys supplied the rest. Another strange issue I find with this is; that the population of Calabasas is approximately about 1% African American, according to the sources I searched online. How is it possible for them to be able to field an almost entirely black team? There have been rumors floating around for years that they actually pull players in from LA all the way down to Orange County to stack their teams. The PYFL has specific territory rules, and my understanding is that they are not supposed to stack your teams even with what actually is your rightful pool of boys. The Playoffs are by invitation only, and if you don't play well with others, you don't get invited. Other teams from Lancaster, Palmdale other locations have, African American players in higher quantities (with their demographics backing it up-mind you) and they are in the playoffs. Cheaters and bad sports got caught at their game and now - guess what? They are being bad sports about it....shocking, don't you think???
Thursday, July 12, 2012
How pervasive is the 'Penn State culture' in college athletics?
How pervasive is the 'Penn State culture' in college athletics?
By Karin Klein
LA Times
July 12, 2012
By this point, it comes as no surprise that an exhaustive inquiry into the sexual abuse scandal involving Penn State University and former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky found that it wasn't just a matter of people high and low in the hierarchy who didn't do the right thing. The failure to end the long-term molestations resulted from a university culture in which athletics reigned supreme, football coaches were revered and even feared, and the foremost concern among top officials wasn't to protect children or do the just thing but to protect the university.
I don't doubt any of this, but I can't help wondering whether Penn State was some kind of anomaly in the world of universities with major team-athletics programs. If we looked with equal intensity at the top 50 or so universities in this group, would we find similar disproportionate power among key coaches, similar fear among the people who work for them and a similar culture of protecting the institution above all else?
This isn't to let Penn State off the hook in any way, or to imply that sexual abuse of children is a problem in the world of higher education; the question is whether universities have overlooked longstanding cultures that have the potential to hide a wide range of problems. Have we bowed too much to the mighty athletic program?
By Karin Klein
LA Times
July 12, 2012
By this point, it comes as no surprise that an exhaustive inquiry into the sexual abuse scandal involving Penn State University and former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky found that it wasn't just a matter of people high and low in the hierarchy who didn't do the right thing. The failure to end the long-term molestations resulted from a university culture in which athletics reigned supreme, football coaches were revered and even feared, and the foremost concern among top officials wasn't to protect children or do the just thing but to protect the university.
I don't doubt any of this, but I can't help wondering whether Penn State was some kind of anomaly in the world of universities with major team-athletics programs. If we looked with equal intensity at the top 50 or so universities in this group, would we find similar disproportionate power among key coaches, similar fear among the people who work for them and a similar culture of protecting the institution above all else?
This isn't to let Penn State off the hook in any way, or to imply that sexual abuse of children is a problem in the world of higher education; the question is whether universities have overlooked longstanding cultures that have the potential to hide a wide range of problems. Have we bowed too much to the mighty athletic program?
Monday, June 18, 2012
Prosecutors want unaired footage in which Jerry Sandusky seems to admit abusing some boys, while saying he didn't abuse others
Prosecutors want unaired footage
NewsCore
FOX News
JUN 18, 2012
Accused Penn State pedophile Jerry Sandusky came off a lot creepier in an exclusive sit-down with NBC last November than anyone knew, but the Peacock Network oddly chose not to air what sounds a lot like an admission of guilt — and now prosecutors want the whole transcript.
"I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped," Sandusky told Costas in footage that never made the November airing.
The disturbing answer first came to light when NBC's "Today" show aired previously unseen transcripts last Tuesday. That prompted prosecutors from the Pennsylvania attorney general's office to contact NBC lawyers on Friday to request that the network turn over and authenticate the entire transcript from the interview that was used to tape the segment that aired on the news program "Rock Center with Brian Williams."
The unaired segment includes a back-and-forth between Costas and Sandusky about his work with young people through his charity for troubled kids, the Second Mile.
"I'm a very passionate person in terms of trying to make a difference in the lives of some young people," Sandusky said. "I worked very hard to try to connect with them. To make them feel good about themselves. To be something significant in their lives. Maybe this gets misinterpreted, has gotten depending on ... I know a lot of young people where it hasn't. I have worked with many, many young people where there has been no misinterpretation of my actions and I have made a very significant difference in their lives."
Costas then challenged Joe Paterno's one-time defensive coordinator, saying, "But isn't what you're just describing the classic MO of many pedophiles? And that is that they gain the trust of young people, they don't necessarily abuse every young person. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of young boys you came into contact with, but there are allegations that at least eight of them were victimized.
"So it's entirely possible that you could've helped young boy A in some way that was not objectionable while horribly taking advantage of young boy B, C, D and E. Isn't that possible?" Costas asked Sandusky during the interview.
Sandusky gave an unusual reply.
"Well — you might think that. I don't know. In terms of — my relationship with so many, many young people. I would — I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward. Many more young people who would come forward and say that my methods and — and what I had done for them made a very positive impact on their life.
"And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have — I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways," he added.
An executive at NBC News, who asked that her identity be withheld, told FOXNews.com, "There were a lot of compelling comments in the original interview, but we did not have time to include them all."
NewsCore
FOX News
JUN 18, 2012
Accused Penn State pedophile Jerry Sandusky came off a lot creepier in an exclusive sit-down with NBC last November than anyone knew, but the Peacock Network oddly chose not to air what sounds a lot like an admission of guilt — and now prosecutors want the whole transcript.
"I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped," Sandusky told Costas in footage that never made the November airing.
The disturbing answer first came to light when NBC's "Today" show aired previously unseen transcripts last Tuesday. That prompted prosecutors from the Pennsylvania attorney general's office to contact NBC lawyers on Friday to request that the network turn over and authenticate the entire transcript from the interview that was used to tape the segment that aired on the news program "Rock Center with Brian Williams."
The unaired segment includes a back-and-forth between Costas and Sandusky about his work with young people through his charity for troubled kids, the Second Mile.
"I'm a very passionate person in terms of trying to make a difference in the lives of some young people," Sandusky said. "I worked very hard to try to connect with them. To make them feel good about themselves. To be something significant in their lives. Maybe this gets misinterpreted, has gotten depending on ... I know a lot of young people where it hasn't. I have worked with many, many young people where there has been no misinterpretation of my actions and I have made a very significant difference in their lives."
Costas then challenged Joe Paterno's one-time defensive coordinator, saying, "But isn't what you're just describing the classic MO of many pedophiles? And that is that they gain the trust of young people, they don't necessarily abuse every young person. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of young boys you came into contact with, but there are allegations that at least eight of them were victimized.
"So it's entirely possible that you could've helped young boy A in some way that was not objectionable while horribly taking advantage of young boy B, C, D and E. Isn't that possible?" Costas asked Sandusky during the interview.
Sandusky gave an unusual reply.
"Well — you might think that. I don't know. In terms of — my relationship with so many, many young people. I would — I would guess that there are many young people who would come forward. Many more young people who would come forward and say that my methods and — and what I had done for them made a very positive impact on their life.
"And I didn't go around seeking out every young person for sexual needs that I've helped. There are many that I didn't have — I hardly had any contact with who I have helped in many, many ways," he added.
An executive at NBC News, who asked that her identity be withheld, told FOXNews.com, "There were a lot of compelling comments in the original interview, but we did not have time to include them all."
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Kentucky Coach Indicted in Player's Death
Update: Coach acquitted in September 2009.
Kentucky School News and Commentary
January 22, 2009
David Jason Stinson, the Pleasure Ridge Park High School head football coach, was indicted today on one count of reckless homicide in the death of one of his players, Max Gilpin.
Gilpin, a sophomore lineman died Aug. 23 at Kosair Children’s Hospital, just three days after he collapsed at a team practice. Max’s temperature reached 107 degrees at the hospital after the collapse.
Stinson is facing up to five years in prison if found guilty of the charge. The Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office did not seek charges against five other coaches on the team. All the coaches, however, have been named in a lawsuit filed by Max’s mother and father in Jefferson Circuit Court in September, accusing the coaches of negligence and “reckless disregard.”
KENTUCKY COACH INDICTED IN PLAYER'S DEATH
January 24, 2009
AP
A Kentucky high school football coach charged in the death of a player who collapsed at practice says he is heartbroken and that part of his life has been taken away.
It was his first public remarks since he was charged with reckless homicide Thursday in the death of 15-year-old Max Gilpin, a sophomore offensive lineman who died three days after collapsing during a sweltering practice in Aug. 20.
Heat exposure deaths have occurred occasionally in all levels of football and the cases have led to numerous lawsuits. However, it appears a coach has never been criminally charged in the deaths...
"Part of my life's been taken away," he said. "I no longer teach. I no longer coach."
A school spokeswoman said he has been reassigned pending the outcome of the case. Stinson is expected to be arraigned Monday.
Some of Stinson's supporters held up signs. Others left notes. Some shared prayers and memories of the coach. Many of them were students, and they clapped and cheered
"we want Stinson," urging the coach to come outside of his home and address them.
"Every morning he would come in, he just had this glow about him," Ariel Whitaker, who had Stinson for two Web design classes, told The Courier-Journal of Louisville. "He could make anyone smile."
Kentucky School News and CommentaryJanuary 22, 2009
David Jason Stinson, the Pleasure Ridge Park High School head football coach, was indicted today on one count of reckless homicide in the death of one of his players, Max Gilpin.
Gilpin, a sophomore lineman died Aug. 23 at Kosair Children’s Hospital, just three days after he collapsed at a team practice. Max’s temperature reached 107 degrees at the hospital after the collapse.
Stinson is facing up to five years in prison if found guilty of the charge. The Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office did not seek charges against five other coaches on the team. All the coaches, however, have been named in a lawsuit filed by Max’s mother and father in Jefferson Circuit Court in September, accusing the coaches of negligence and “reckless disregard.”
KENTUCKY COACH INDICTED IN PLAYER'S DEATH
January 24, 2009
AP
A Kentucky high school football coach charged in the death of a player who collapsed at practice says he is heartbroken and that part of his life has been taken away.
It was his first public remarks since he was charged with reckless homicide Thursday in the death of 15-year-old Max Gilpin, a sophomore offensive lineman who died three days after collapsing during a sweltering practice in Aug. 20.
Heat exposure deaths have occurred occasionally in all levels of football and the cases have led to numerous lawsuits. However, it appears a coach has never been criminally charged in the deaths...
"Part of my life's been taken away," he said. "I no longer teach. I no longer coach."
A school spokeswoman said he has been reassigned pending the outcome of the case. Stinson is expected to be arraigned Monday.
Some of Stinson's supporters held up signs. Others left notes. Some shared prayers and memories of the coach. Many of them were students, and they clapped and cheered
"we want Stinson," urging the coach to come outside of his home and address them.
"Every morning he would come in, he just had this glow about him," Ariel Whitaker, who had Stinson for two Web design classes, told The Courier-Journal of Louisville. "He could make anyone smile."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)