Coach found guilty of ordering player to bean 9-year-old autistic child

Vedderlution_Baby

justam wrote:

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Then, maybe he resented the child being on the team? Perhaps the parents of the child should have been sensitive to the fact that their son was making the team lose and that there was resentment rather than simply pushing his right to BE on the team?

It makes me sad. :(

No way! They're eight year old. They shouldn't even be worried about winning or losing, just playing the game. A score shouldn't even be kept for kids that age.

justam

hsewif wrote:

-In most cases, a child that is simply 'autistic' isn't physically different from a 'normal' child. Their heads will react the same when hit with a hard object....they don't hurt "more" or "differently" because they're autistic. Actually, some autistic kids have an extremely high tolerance/don't react when they're in pain.

Anybody could be hurt by a hard ball thrown at their head!!!

Despite the fact that autistic kids don't react to pain in the same way as others doesn't mean it couldn't cause more damage to a brain that already has extra work to do to compensate.

hsewif

justam wrote:

Then, maybe he resented the child being on the team? Perhaps the parents of the child should have been sensitive to the fact that their son was making the team lose and that there was resentment rather than simply pushing his right to BE on the team?

It was a playoff game so the team obviously won more games than they lost up until that point.

Does anyone know if the team actually won?

We're talking about 8 year olds. The game should be about the experience, not the final score. That boy had every right to be there and for you to even hint that the parents were wrong in letting him play is really sad. Like I said-they had done well up until that point...how much of a liability was this kid? Every team has a "worst" player... Why didn't they just bench him? Would the coach have done this if the kid wasn't autistic? Taken out his worst player?

hsewif

justam wrote:

Anybody could be hurt by a hard ball thrown at their head!!!

Despite the fact that autistic kids don't react to pain in the same way as others doesn't mean it couldn't cause more damage to a brain that already has extra work to do to compensate.

The autistic brain works in a different way but it isn't softer than a normal one... their brains can't be hurt 'more' than a normal brain.

justam

hsewif wrote:

The autistic brain works in a different way but it isn't softer than a normal one... their brains can't be hurt 'more' than a normal brain.

Not saying it could be hurt more, I'm saying anyone's brain could be hurt by a hard ball and it would be the last thing they'd need.

comfortably numb

the guy's obviously a huge jerk, but personally i agree with those who think his punishment is a bit excessive. the guy paid an 8 year old to throw a ball at another 8 year old. or nine years old, whichever.

1-6 years?

the emotions created by this story and the fact that the kid was autistic really should play no role in determining this guy's sentense.

give him community service and let the parents of both kids knock him around for a while, but that's it.

lowlighthabit

sponger wrote:

I think some of you are overreacting a little bit. The kid got beaned in the head. This could have very well happened to him on a "legal" basis if it occurred during the course of the game. I'm willing to bet lots of kids get beaned in the head on purpose on or off the field. The difference here is that he got beaned in the head for being different. It's not right, but then again, we're not looking at a violent criminal here. It's just an act of discrimination, not naked aggression. Tanya Harding never served a day in jail. Is that because Nancy Kerrigan wasn't autistic?

Whether it happened in the game or not, the idiot coach PAID a child to INJURE another child. I am sure lots of children retaliate on other children in game, they learn it from the pros. How is accepting money and hurting another child not violent? What if the child would have been hit in the eye or the nose? Does it take blood pouring out of a child's face to make it a violent crime? What does the kid who got paid think of it? I am sure if it was your autistic child, you would be singin' a different song. I would love to see you stand in front of a line of 6-8 yr olds and let them bean you in the head or someplace a little more private. I bet at least one of them will hurt you.

Cosmo

I think a main point that gets lost here...
BASEBALL IS A GAME.
This one in particular is played by 9 YEAR OLDS. Baseball to a little kid is SUPPOSED TO BE FUN.
...
It is NOT THAT IMPORTANT to win. At that age, you are teaching kids about the team concept. Part of that team concept does not include taking out a team mate so you will win the game on Saturday.