There is a big controversy around here after a local youth baseball coach was accused of and charged with attacking one of his 14 year old players. The man, Bob Orlando, is also the president (since suspended) of the town's youth baseball program and general manager of the local mall.
According to The Post-Star, Orlando allegedly threw several punches at one of his players following a nasty verbal exchange. The player was upset that he had taken out of the game and taunted the coach, who apparently responded by lunging at him through a car window.
Orlando has since been banned from coaching at least through 2007 and removed as president of the baseball program. He has been charged by the police. He has rightly been excoriated by the newspaper and by the community as a whole. Some of the involved parents have gone one step further and implied he should lose his job as general manager of the mall.
That's a bit excessive but most of the criticism of Orlando is deserved. A coach should throw a punch at a player, period. A coach should never touch a player in anger at all except in self-defense or to break up a fight. And even then, the action should only be defensive, not aggressive.
I've been told from a reliable source that the kid, a pitcher, was infuriated at being taken out of a game and was verbally abusing Orlando from the moment he got back to the dugout. Apparently, the expletive laced tired never stopped. This is a 14 year old, mind you, verbally abusing a coach who had volunteered hours of his time to help these kids. What Orlando did was completely unacceptable, but it wasn't unprovoked.
I only heard this third hand and Orlando has refused comment, presumably on the advice of his lawyer. So I don't blame The Post-Star for not publishing something so far removed from the incident. I think they've done a good job covering what is essentially a 'he said, she said' story where the 'he' isn't talking.
But assuming it's true, it does add context to the story. It does not in any way excuse what Orlando did. He deserves the criticism and the punishments. But it begs the question: how come he's the ONLY one being held accountable? At least socially.
Consider the kid throwing the temper tantrum because his teammates made a few errors, is he a little baby or a 14 year old? Shouldn't he be expected to act his age?
Bear in mind the one thing that we DO know is that the kid admitted to sitting his car with his mom and mocking Orlando: "Thanks, President Bob; Thanks, President Bob; Thanks' President Bob."
If his mom didn't hear the alleged verbal abuse in the dugout, then surely she heard this. How could any decent parent sit there in silence as their adolescent son taunted an adult, let alone someone who was volunteering his time to help kids?
Orlando should not be allowed to coach again. And it is right and proper than he have charges filed against him. But the obnoxious brat and his complicit or impotent mother also need to look in the mirror too and think about their own role in this mess.
Angry editorials and columns are written whenever there is a story like this of out-of-control coaches or parents. And I heartily approve of such pieces. When he was sports editor of The Post-Star, Ken Tingley often wrote columns about the importance of sportsmanship. They were some of the best stuff he's ever published in the paper.
As a relatively mellow youth coach who expects good behavior of myself and my parents, I completely agreed with them. If all parents conducted themselves with dignity, it would make the job of every coach easier and it would let the kids enjoy their sport more. I've been fortunate that I've had almost no parents like that, but I know not all coaches are that lucky.
But I am also a relatively mellow youth coach who expects good behavior of my players. I've coached 14 year olds before and, while I'd never assault them, I also would never put up with them (or kids of any other age) verbally abusing me or their teammates. All it takes it one little spoiled twerp carping on how great he is and how everyone else sucks to ruin your experience as a coach and the experience of the other kids.
Thankfully, I've never coached a kid who has even hinted at such an action. The coach sets the tone but it helps to have it reinforced, or at least not undermined, by the parents. I have expectations of my players of good behavior and will tolerate nothing less. Sadly, it seems this kid's mom has no such expectations of her son.
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