(no subject)

[mattblakk]

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com
Coach charged in paid beaning of boy
By JOSE MARTINEZ
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Saturday, July 16th, 2005

How's this for wanting to win at all costs?
A Pennsylvania youth baseball coach was busted yesterday for allegedly paying off a player to bean an 8-year-old autistic teammate in the head, police said.

Mark Downs was accused of slipping $25 to one of his players for clocking a teammate with a baseball, knocking him out of a youth league game in North Union Township, Pa.

"The league rules are that each kid has to participate for at least three innings," said Pennsylvania State Trooper Brian Burden. "Obviously, he didn't want this kid to play."

The alleged attack took place before a June 27 game between teams of 8-year-olds. Downs, the head coach of the Falcons, allegedly offered the payoff because he didn't want an underwhelming performance by the autistic boy.

Downs was hit with several charges, including solicitation to commit simple assault and corruption of minors.

But league President Eric Forsythe defended Downs as a good coach, and said the autistic boy wasn't badly hurt, even though he was sidelined after being struck in the ear.

"There wasn't a bruise, there wasn't a bump," Forsythe told the Daily News. "There wasn't nothing."

After the game, Forsythe said, all the players - including the injured boy - went for ice cream.

Forsythe said he was stunned when the mother of the boy who hurled the baseball told him her son had accepted a bonus for throwing at a teammate.

"I said to her, 'You gotta be kidding,'" Forsythe said. "It sounds ludicrous, but you never know."

Forsythe said Downs denied putting a bounty on his own player. He said he had not received any complaints about Downs, but added: "If it happened, something needs to be done to this man."

Comments

[wearbear.livejournal.com]

hmmmm I think I need to get out my bat of vengeance and teach Mr. Downs the finer points of baseball.
Actually I'll throw in a little batting practice for on Mr. Forsythe while I'm at too. As if not having a bruise and still going for ice cream makes it ok that Mr. Downs PAID another kid to hit someone.

[eriktrips.livejournal.com]

so it's supposed to be ok since the boy wasn't badly hurt? what is wrong with people??

[whitr.livejournal.com]

"There wasn't a bruise, there wasn't a bump," Forsythe told the Daily News. "There wasn't nothing." moments, later, as if in some desperate need to further cement the image of himself as a mouth-breathing knuckle-walker, Forsythe picked up a small rock, hurled it at a squirrel, then walked over to the prone rodent and ate it.

[archanglrobriel.livejournal.com]

But league President Eric Forsythe defended Downs as a good coach, and said the autistic boy wasn't badly hurt, even though he was sidelined after being struck in the ear.

"There wasn't a bruise, there wasn't a bump," Forsythe told the Daily News. "There wasn't nothing."

EXCUSE ME??? It's ok to bean the autistic kid in the head to keep him from playing, because he wasn't -badly- hurt? Uh...holy Christ! Got empathy? Anyone? Not to mention the complete lack of ethics that would provoke someone to teach an 8 year old that this kind of thing was ok by buying him off this way. Making him into a Little League hitman. OMFG!! Methinks that the rotten in this league goes all the way to the top.

[kneidlach.livejournal.com]

Well you know if he was *really* hurt he *definitely* wouldn't have eaten ice cream! < / sarcasm > Ugh. That is so messed up and awful. A kid doesn't have to be badly hurt or even upset enough to cry in order to know on some level that they have been treated badly and internalize it. That coach should be disbarred or dismembered or whatever it is they do to bad LIttle League coaches.

[maggielawrence.livejournal.com]

"What is this world coming to?" indeed!
It brings to mind the woman in TX who tried to hire someone to kill her daughter's cheerleading rival and her mother.

Competition and the need to win are too strong in this country, especially within children's sports. I saw it numerous times when my two sons were in soccer and hockey and even tae kwon do: mommies comparing who reached a certain level before the others.

Tolerance is not strong enough in this country as we all know.
The child's physical safety is an issue but I wonder what an incident like this will do to his self-image if not followed thru and providing closure.

Please let us know if you hear any more about this case, Matt.

[asphaltwanderer.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I had just read that. It's sickening.

[doublestuff32.livejournal.com]

disgusting and frightening.
this case has 'hate crime' written all over it.
I do hope his parents follor through with helping the boy deal with the trauma, and helping the coach right out of his coaching career.
seriously, what would the coach do if someone clocked his kid with a baseball on purpose?? that is exactly what needs to be done for him.

[boykaiden.livejournal.com]

I read that earlier....seriously disturbing. extremely sad and ridiculous.

[griffen.livejournal.com]

Unbelievable. Just unbelievable.

[im-a-shark.livejournal.com]

I am so saddened by this. Near my town in PA they have a "Challenger League" for kids with Autism and other diaablilities. I've heard very good things about it. This man should be arrested.

Hell, "He wasn't hurt very badly." WTF?!?! That's gonna stay in that poor kid's memory forever!! He could very well always be worried about being clocked by a ball and thus lose all enjoyment he had of the game. Not to mention that coach just let all the other players on the team think it's ok to hurt others when they're not good enough for your standards. Bully.

Gah, I'm in FL right now and not in PA but I'm sure it was in our paper and my husband saved the article for me. Makes me wanna cry.