Two high school coaches are going back to court in upstate NY regarding their inactions regarding a hazing incident that took place on a bus trip. Like the captain of a ship, coaches are responsible for the activities of the minors (their athletes) when on official travel representing their school. Even though they were unaware what was going on (which I find hard to believe on a school bus...), they are the adults entrusted with the welfare of those children.


While coaches cannot be reasonably expected to see everything that goes on, where were the team captains or other leaders of the team to stop this hazing? If anything, the coaches should be held in negligence for creating a leadership environment that created the idea that this hazing was permissable.


Copyright 2008 The Buffalo News
All Rights Reserved
Buffalo News (New York)


December 3, 2008 Wednesday
NIAGARA EDITION


SECTION: LOCAL; Pg. B1

HEADLINE: Coaches in hazing case will face charges;
Wilson justice denies motion to dismiss

BYLINE: By Thomas J. Prohaska - NEWS NIAGARA BUREAU

DATELINE: WILSON


Town Justice George R. Berger on Tuesday refused to dismiss charges against two suspended coaches in the Wilson High School baseball team hazing case.

Berger issued a ruling denying defense motions to throw out the child endangerment charges against Thomas J. Baia and William M. Atlas.

That means the coaches must return to court Jan. 13. "At that time, we'll start talking about trial dates," Assistant District Attorney Robert A. Zucco said. "I'm happy with the result."

Baia and Atlas face up to a year in jail if convicted on misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child. They were on the bus when three junior varsity baseball players allegedly had fingers and cell phones thrust into their rectums through their pants by three varsity players during a bus ride home from a game in Niagara Falls April 17.

The three varsity players, originally charged with felony sexual abuse, now are charged with various counts of forcible touching and hazing, which range from misdemeanors to violations. They are due back in court next Tuesday for legal arguments in their cases.

Defense attorneys Robert Viola and Herbert L. Greenman had argued in court Nov. 18 that the charges against the coaches should be dismissed because, as they saw it, the legal definition of endangering the welfare of a child requires the defendants to have actually done something. They argued that Baia and Atlas couldn't be charged with that because the allegation is that they didn't do anything to stop the incident.

Berger didn't see it that way. His ruling said that while the law uses the word "acts" as a verb in one paragraph -- the one Viola and Greenman relied upon -- it uses the word as a noun in another paragraph.

Thus, the law criminalizes inaction, the judge ruled. He wrote, "[It] clearly encompasses both acts and omissions to act."

"I don't think that's what the cases say," Viola said. "I'm going to look at the decision and sit down with [Greenman] and see if he views it the same way I do, see if there's room for reargument the way that's written."

Greenman did not return a call seeking comment.

Another key word in the law is "knowingly," and the defense attorneys argued that the evidence doesn't show the coaches knowingly endangered the JV players. Berger wrote, "The court finds this element is sufficiently alleged and is a matter to be properly decided by the trier of fact."

In other words, it would be up to a jury to make that ruling, unless the defense chooses a nonjury trial and calls on Berger alone to render a verdict. Viola said he hasn't given any thought to trial format options.

Berger did order Zucco to give the defense a bill of particulars listing the names and addresses of all witnesses questioned by police or prosecutors, the specific acts that constitute an offense and how those acts endangered the alleged victims.

Berger's ruling implied that he is prepared to hold a hearing to rule on Zucco's attempts to use "prior uncharged bad acts" as evidence against the coaches.

The prosecutor has explained that he wants to present information about other hazing incidents in previous seasons.

e-mail: [email protected]

Have all of these schools lost sight of what interscholastic sports are all about? To complement the classroom experience of their students.

Copyright 2008 Times Publishing Company
All Rights Reserved
St. Petersburg Times (Florida)


June 13, 2008 Friday
4 State / Suncoast Edition


SECTION: SPORTS; Pg. 2C

HEADLINE: PAY THE FINE, DO THE TIME

BYLINE: IZZY GOULD, Times Staff Writer


Bradenton Prep was handed a whopping $38,000 fine this week, the largest ever dished out by the Florida High School Athletic Association. It's only the latest in a string of record fines handed out by the organization in recent years. The FHSAA's Web site shows 66 of 645 member schools are on restrictive probation and more than 90 schools are currently on some form of probation. Here are some of the more notable examples.

Record fines

Bradenton Prep

The $38,000 fine would have been stiffer if the school had not cut loose a pair of athletic directors and basketball coaches among other self-imposed sanctions. This one went all the way to the top with principal Susan Hedgecock providing housing for an athlete. Two more athletes lived with people tied to the school. The program was found to have recruited basketball players using "outside agents and college recruiters" specifically naming Virginia Commonwealth University assistant Tony Pujol in its findings. The school also falsified an FHSAA financial document and lied about the attendance of a preseason classic. In all, there were 19 violations in three sports. The school has vowed to appeal the ruling and has until June 24 to do so.

West Oaks Academy

In January, the Orlando school was handed a then-record fine of $26,550 after three individual cases involving the use of ineligible athletes, which prompted the FHSAA to say the school was "operating without administrative control." One athlete actually played in three football games using another kid's name and wearing another kid's number. The kicker - he wasn't even enrolled at the school and wouldn't have been eligible anyway because he already had burned his four years of eligibility. Another case involved an athlete who played in 19 games despite not having the minimum 2.0 GPA to be academically eligible. He also had enrolled at two other schools during the same school year before landing at West Oaks. The school lost its appeal and withdrew from the FHSAA in March without paying one cent. According to an Orlando Sentinel report, the school also encouraged other private schools to break away from the FHSAA to form an independent league.

Expelled

Jacksonville Potter's House Christian Academy became the second FHSAA member expelled since 1940 after committing three major rules violations within a year. The key violation occurred when five girls basketball players transferred to the school to follow their coach Tony Bannister from Shekinah Christian while the school was on probation. The school continues to participate as an "approved member" and the basketball team came within a win of playing for the NACA national championship. Scheduling has become a major problem with few local teams willing to take games and with no district schedule or the opportunity to play for a state title. The school can apply for reinstatement in 2010.

Homestead Berkshire School was handed what amounts to the death penalty after it was expelled in 2000 for five years after recruiting eight boys and four girls for its basketball teams laden with international players. The school had to forfeit all of its games and was fined $2,500. In addition, the school was required to reimburse the FHSAA for legal fees totaling $11,016.97. The school has since closed.

Other notable controversies

St. Petersburg Catholic was fined $13,000 in 2006 and the football team was banned from postseason competition through next season. The fine was one of the stiffest handed down at the time. The penalties were for three recruiting violations and holding offseason practices. SPC paid a fine and won an appeal Thursday to be fully reinstated.

Lakeland High became the center of controversy when star running back Chris Rainey almost had his eligibility pulled and threatened the Dreadnaughts' state title hopes after he bragged to the Miami Herald he received free clothes and money from people, which would have threatened his amateur status. Now at UF, Rainey later said he was joking and was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Nature Coast was fined $1,250 in 2006 and placed on three years probation after its coaches were found guilty of four recruiting violations. Hernando County athletic directors had threatened to withdraw from the county's athletic conference alleging Nature Coast had taken advantage of its status as a non-zoned school.

Orlando Christian Prep was fined $10,000 and banned from postseason play through 2010 for recruiting and housing two players, including former Gulf star Dominique English. In addition, the girls were declared ineligible for the remainder of their senior seasons. Coach William "Buck" Lanham was fired before the season. The fine was reduced to $5,000 in January 2007 on appeal.

Izzy Gould can be reached at [email protected] or (727) 580-5315.

Another great article by Prof. John Wolohan on a legal issue dealing with sport coaches.

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