Cops: Tee-Ball Coach Took 'Hit' On Challenged Player
POSTED: 2:16 pm EDT July 15, 2005
UPDATED: 6:24 pm EDT July 15, 2005
NORTH UNION TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A tee-ball coach seeking to keep a player with a mental disability off the field allegedly asked another player to hurt the boy, state police said Friday.
The alleged incident happened June 27 at R.W. Clark Little League Field in North Union Township, Fayette County, police said.
During pre-game warmups, Mark Reed Downs Jr. offered one of his players $25 to hit the 8-year-old boy in the head with a baseball, according to a police news release.
"Various interviews revealed that Downs did not want the victim to play due to his physical limitations," the release said.
After speaking with Downs, the second player hit the victim near his left ear and in the groin area, leaving him unable to play in that night's game, state police said.
"The coach seemed to find excuses not to play this child because he wasn't that talented," Trooper Thomas Broadwater told Channel 4 Action News. "On the 27th, the child was basically beaned in the head with a baseball."
The injured boy's mother was suspicious, so she approached the player who threw the ball and he told her about the coach's payment offer, Broadwater said.
Downs, 27, of Dunbar, was charged Friday with criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, corruption of minors and reckless endangerment. He is free on bond and faces a preliminary hearing on July 28.
the pittsburgchannel.com
BASEBALL COACH hires player to attack mentally disabled team
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streetsoldier
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I had a coach who "benched" me for half a season in 3rd grade; I was thin, and he didn't think I could help the "team effort".
The League came down on him, citing a GUARANTEED "three innings per player" rule; it was only then that he found out I could outrun the others, throw longer and more accurately from the outfield, and hit long drives that opponents couldn't catch.
Our team won division that year...and it was the last time I played organized sports until high school.
Some "coaches", as well as parents of team members, will do ANYTHING to "win".
The League came down on him, citing a GUARANTEED "three innings per player" rule; it was only then that he found out I could outrun the others, throw longer and more accurately from the outfield, and hit long drives that opponents couldn't catch.
Our team won division that year...and it was the last time I played organized sports until high school.
Some "coaches", as well as parents of team members, will do ANYTHING to "win".
Last edited by streetsoldier on Fri Jul 15, 2005 6:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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therock1811
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Some of the coaches and parents take childrens ball playing alittle bit too seriously. They literally take the fun out of the game for the children by applying too much pressure to win. I hope this coach is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I was the batting coach this spring for my 8 yr old daughters softball team and I always used a rotation roster so all the girls got to bat each game. Nobody was benched or refused the right to bat because of their ability to play. And I never, ever berated a child for striking out. I always told them to try their hardest and do their best and that was good enough for me. Needless to say all of the girls showed great improvement by the end of the season, they all knew what sportmanship was about and they were team players!!
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Skywatch_NC
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Hope the coach is banned for the rest of his life from any sport that he may want to help out with!!
Both he and the player that assaulted the diffabled boy should be forced as part of their punishment...do some community service...for ie. cutting grass at group homes and special needs kids centers...on blazing hot afternoons... temps in the mid 90s or so!!!
And using a push mower...NOT a driving one!
Eric
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Skywatch_NC
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Recalling the series "Life Goes On"... and how Corky Thatcher (Chris Burke) a guy with Down Syndrome has become a truly inspirational individual to us all through his acting career then and his work with the Special Olympics, etc! 
Obviously this coach has no regard whatsoever for those who may be different and what great strides and successes many have in their lives if ONLY given a CHANCE to get there.
Eric
Obviously this coach has no regard whatsoever for those who may be different and what great strides and successes many have in their lives if ONLY given a CHANCE to get there.
Eric
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TexasStooge
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iluvseashore
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That is terrible.I am an ESE teacher assistand and I've always thought that inclusion was a good thing but now I am starting to doubt whether overall it is. Basically, because there are some ignorant people in this world.
Here in Pinellas Co. where my son plays baseball they have one team per age group of disabled kids and the competative teams all take turns playing them. Our kids really do a good job playing them. I'm always proud of how our guys behave and how compassionate they are. Its nice to see.
Here in Pinellas Co. where my son plays baseball they have one team per age group of disabled kids and the competative teams all take turns playing them. Our kids really do a good job playing them. I'm always proud of how our guys behave and how compassionate they are. Its nice to see.
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Skywatch_NC
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Sad, sick *whatever*! -
swimaster20
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iluvseashore
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Astro_man92
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Re: BASEBALL COACH hires player to attack mentally disabled
rainstorm wrote:Cops: Tee-Ball Coach Took 'Hit' On Challenged Player
POSTED: 2:16 pm EDT July 15, 2005
UPDATED: 6:24 pm EDT July 15, 2005
NORTH UNION TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A tee-ball coach seeking to keep a player with a mental disability off the field allegedly asked another player to hurt the boy, state police said Friday.
The alleged incident happened June 27 at R.W. Clark Little League Field in North Union Township, Fayette County, police said.
During pre-game warmups, Mark Reed Downs Jr. offered one of his players $25 to hit the 8-year-old boy in the head with a baseball, according to a police news release.
"Various interviews revealed that Downs did not want the victim to play due to his physical limitations," the release said.
After speaking with Downs, the second player hit the victim near his left ear and in the groin area, leaving him unable to play in that night's game, state police said.
"The coach seemed to find excuses not to play this child because he wasn't that talented," Trooper Thomas Broadwater told Channel 4 Action News. "On the 27th, the child was basically beaned in the head with a baseball."
The injured boy's mother was suspicious, so she approached the player who threw the ball and he told her about the coach's payment offer, Broadwater said.
Downs, 27, of Dunbar, was charged Friday with criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, corruption of minors and reckless endangerment. He is free on bond and faces a preliminary hearing on July 28.
the pittsburgchannel.com
if that is true then that coach is a sick human being and does not deserv to coach a team
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