Something has to be done about those short-sighted Connecticut legislators, and it must be done now. Earlier this month, state representatives approved a law that would make it a felony to assault refs, umpires and other sports officials. But the folks in the state capitol building forgot to include coaches. And that was just the opening Marc Picard was looking for.
Picard, an art teacher from Notre Dame HS in West Haven, became a bit agitated when his daughter, Melanie, was suspended from the Sacred Heart Academy softball team for, police report, skipping a game to attend a prom. A man of action, Picard allegedly grabbed an aluminum bat and administered a beating about the head and shoulders to ND coach John Crovo.
Picard has been charged with first-degree assault and could face 20 years in jail. Crovo was treated and released from a local hospital. No word on the levels of hurt and humiliation Melanie has sustained, but you can bet they are pretty darn high.
This isn't just the ordinary example of a parent's going overboard in a youth-sports situation. This is the latest all-in move of the ballooning crisis, which threatens to turn kids' athletics into a high-stakes, win-or-else game, in which everybody loses.
Last week, a high school rugby coach was set upon by eight to 15 people and beaten and kicked until he was unconscious. It was retaliation for his decision to protect a referee who was being attacked by the brother of the rival team's coach. Seems the brother punched the official after a fan of his brother's team was ordered off the field by the ref. Craig Stewart, the coach of Alameda High School Riptide club team, tried to stop the assault and was allegedly knocked to the ground and beaten by a group of cowards, many of whom fled like scared rabbits when the police came.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/michael_bradley/05/19/el.hombre/
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