pioneer coach arrested

[holeN1]

Posted by Robman:

If the intent of the coach was to hit my child.....yes!

If that was not the intent.............NO!

 

What would you do if your kid broke the coffee table because he was playing football in the house? Would you say "awe, that's ok?" Well, that's not what would happen in the "good ole days." The kid should be punished for doing somthing stupid! I don't think anyone who would throw a helmet in a crowded room, where there is even the slightest chance it could hit someone, deserves to be a coach. There's just not enough common sense there!

[ELA]

Posted by Robman:

Could someone please tell me where has all of the common sense has gone? I believe the issue is intent! Did the coach intend to hit the player? Of coarse not! You have a bunch of people , some of which are wannabe coaches, just waiting to jump on a good coach because he made a mistake! Lets take a step back, review all intentions, and apply good common sense on a situtation that begs for it!

 

Let's look at this from a legal standpoint. Was there any malice involved in the act? NO! It was an accident (pure and simple). Is there any civil liability? YES! That is why schools, teachers, and coaches protect themselves with liability insurance. NOW WE GET DOWN TO THE HEART OF THE ISSUE! MONEY! A liability policy will payoff for this incident if the proper papers are filed in a timely fashion. I think we will see the threat of a civil suit and the quick settlement by the school and the Coach's insurance company. This is the year 2002 and everyone is out for the all might buck! Is it the right thing for the family? Who knows? But I would like to think that is what is going on here. I could be wrong... Lord knows I have been wrong in the past! The only other card being played here may be local politics between Bedford and Warren County officials?

[mg]

ELA......you hit the nail on the head....

 

i believe that you and I both suspect that justice is not the motivation here....

 

a civil suit against a government entity has a tort limit and that limit is very low...since this is a minor injury...then the amount recovered will be much less than the tort limit.... and the attorney will get at least 35% of that....

 

this will be paid by the schools insurance carrier...warren cnty will be out nothing but the deductible....this matter will be settled quickly and out of court.......

 

but remember this.....when you sue your school, police dept, etc.. you are actually suing your parents, neighbors and anyone else in your community who pays property taxes....they are the ones that ultimately end up paying....

[Illini]

From everything I have read and seen posted on this sight I don't beleive anybody has agreed with the way the coach handled himself in the lockerroom. I don't agree with it either. Very bad judgement on his part. The man was susspended for a week (should have been 4 weeks in my opinion). Went to the kid and family and had a meeting from what I hear it lasted 3 hrs. The man returned after his suspention and now we have a cival suit on him. Sounds to me that the parents want money and nothing else If they wanted something else they would have went through the proper channels to make sure it never happened again. I will also gaurrentee everyone their were lawyers lined up telling these people what to do to ruin this man and the county's football program. This is a sad day when an accident ruins a mans carrer and the county's image that was struggling anyway on football. What kid in their right mind would want to play anymore with all the negitive press that this has gotten. Well my guess is that he will be fired and we will need a football coach next year. So all you perfect people out their on this sight that have never done nothing wrong please apply so we could have a saint coach so nobody gets their feelings hurt and show us how to coach football without yelling or getting upset or triing to fire your kids up. With most people on this web sight you want a coach who just sets their and only praises your little angel and never say anything negitive. Remember this coaching position will be open so get your resumes ready to mail in.

[Bighurt]

I just think this whole situation is sad. Sad for boy who got hurt. Sad to Coach Tidwell who hurt the boy. Sad for the boy's parents. Sad that the authorites are involved.

[KarlChilders]

The motivation here for the parent must certainly be financial. What other justification could their be for them to press the issue to the point of prosecution? I would imagine the Bedford Co. DA has more important matters on his plate than Gerald Tidwell. My guess is he was pressured by the parents to pursue this issue. Most likely Coach Tidwell will never coach another game at Warren County or anywhere else. What's worse, he may never be able to teach again because of this. So the man made an incredibly stupid mistake, that much is above question. But should it cost him his livelihood? I don't think his crime merits that severe of a punishment. It's just another pathetic story out of Warren County in a very long line of pathetic stories where nobody wins. Glad I don't have to live there anymore.

[DelTavian]

Does anyone have an _actual_ _facts_ update of where things stand at the moment?

 

I'm curious if the player's parents are supporting the arrest or supporting the coach. Last I heard he was back at practice and all was ok.

 

Also, is there any _official_ word from the school board on what they're going to do or not do?

 

I've seen all the opinions and am not looking for anymore....PLEASE!

 

I'd just like a facts update.

 

Del (who refuses to have an opinion on this since I don't live in Warren County or have a kid playing there. I figure my opinion really doesn't matter in the big picture of Pioneer football. )

[wcsports]

Tidwell is suspended with pay until the assault case is resolved. The preliminary hearing is set for Oct 29th, which is 3 days before the last regular season game. The young man is participating in practice and will likely play Friday night.

[just1np]

The word "arrested" was originally used. That means the man has been charged with a crime, correct? If this is the case, and it is pursued, then there must be a trial, correct?

If there is a trial I believe evidence must be presented. Eveidence such as witnesses.

I would assume these witnesses would be the players and the other coaches.

My question is this:

Who would want their community's children dragged through this crap? This should be a dead issue. Instead it has grown to the point of being tragic. All these kids are going to have to relive this the rest of the season, maybe longer.

Another question:

If the shoe was on the other foot, would there be an arrest?

If a football player got emotional, threw something, hit a coach, would it have gone this far? I've never heard of any rule that said at a certain age we aren't allowed to make mistakes anymore.

[Chakra20]

Posted by just1np:

The word "arrested" was originally used. That means the man has been charged with a crime, correct? If this is the case, and it is pursued, then there must be a trial, correct?

If there is a trial I believe evidence must be presented. Eveidence such as witnesses.

I would assume these witnesses would be the players and the other coaches.

My question is this:

Who would want their community's children dragged through this crap? This should be a dead issue. Instead it has grown to the point of being tragic. All these kids are going to have to relive this the rest of the season, maybe longer.

Another question:

If the shoe was on the other foot, would there be an arrest?

If a football player got emotional, threw something, hit a coach, would it have gone this far? I've never heard of any rule that said at a certain age we aren't allowed to make mistakes anymore.

 

As far as on the other foot. These kids are juveniles most of them so they might get into a scared straight program and would be likely to be kicked off the team if not outta of the school.

[footballfanatic]

After sitting here and reading this entire thread, I don't recall anyone ever saying that it was not all right for a coach to yell at their players. As a former high school football player, I got my share of time being "chewed out" by coaches for mild things, and I really don't have a problem with it, nor did my parents.

 

But, the fact is, that a kid was sitting in a locker room during halftime becuase he signed up for a football team to play football, probably expecting to get yelled at some time.

 

Instead, somthing stupid beyond all recognition happened and the kid came away from that game needing stitches, not because he was hurt playing football. but because a stupid coach decided to throw a helmet and not look where he was throwing it.

 

My coach once threw a helmet in a locker room against the wall and it did fire the players up. That is because my coach was smart enough to make sure that he was not going to seriously injure someone in the process.

 

This coach should be fired because he is stupid. Even if it costs him his liveliehood. Stupid mistakes are usually what cost people their liveliehood. This man should be punished simply because he did not look where he was throwing the helmet, because NOT LOOKING was the gallactically stupid mistake here.

 

I agree that the coach should be fired and his punishment ought to be limited to that and having to carry this with him for the rest of his life. If someone else would hire him, i think that he will have learned his lesson and he won't do anything stupid again.

 

also, who cares what dell says. if you do not have any new info on this story, please do post your opinions based on what is written here already or what you already know. that is what coacht.com is for!

[wcsports]

Coach Tidwell is not stupid. He is the first to admit that what he did was stupid. He said so in his remarks to the community. I think some people won't be happy until we drag him out to the court square and stone him. But he's not stupid. He's a good man who made a mistake and is now paying a heavy price. The man has a wife and small children and I hate to see his career ruined over this incident.