Coach Charged for Death of Football Player

Get the full story here – http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090127/ap_on_re_us/player_death_charges;_ylt=Ag6Te6IOoPisMrZwkW3_r6FvzwcF

David Jason Stinson, head football coach at Pleasure Ridge Park High School in Louisville, KY, plead ‘not guilty’ today to the reckless homicide of his 15 year old football player. Max Gilpin died 3 days after collapsing at practice on August 20th in which bystanders said the players did not receive any water breaks and emergency help was not called for more than 20 minutes. There was also speculation that the player Gilpin was taking the supplement Creatine which is known to throw off electrolyte balances and heat intolerance.

I’m kinda in the middle on this one. On one hand he definitely should be charged if he refused the player water and the other coaches should be held accountable if they did not call 911 for 20+ minutes. On the other hand, if you are hot and feel as if you’re dying of thirst, Jesus shouldn’t have kept you away from a bucket of water. When I was in elementary school I came home one day and told my mom about how a teacher of mines wouldn’t let me go to the bathroom because she thought I didn’t really need to go. She told me that next time if I had to do something that I really felt like I had to do like use the bathroom or get some air, anything like that than I did not have to wait until I had permission to do so. A few years later in Junior High School, I had a science teacher who wouldn’t let me use the bathroom and when I walked straight out the classroom he told me I couldn’t come back in. My momma went off on him during the parent/teacher conference and asked him ‘How DARE he refuse the right of a little girl to use the bathroom?’
 
So with that being said, I understand that little high schools in rural towns like this one in Kentucky are breeding grounds for college football stars and the NFL but people need to understand that some children are pushing themselves to death by allowing their coaches to get the final say over issues such as getting a drink of water and seeking medical attention. And why are coaches given this much authority over the players and their actions anyways? Do football players pass out a lot and that’s the reason why the coaches and the other football players didn’t get on the phone and call for help? I just don’t get it…
 
This is another case I’ll be adding to my stories to watch over the next few months. I honestly don’t see an acquittal coming on this one simply because there are so many people here to ‘blame’ for what happened in my opinion but the family has one hell of a civil case.