coach pays player to hit disabled teammate

flybynight · Post by **flybynight** » July 16th, 2005, 11:48 pm

Coach Allegedly Paid Player to Hit Disabled Teammate
Man Accused of Having Boy Hurt So He Wouldn't Have to Play Him
By ALLISON SCHLESINGER, AP

PITTSBURGH (July 16) - A T-ball coach allegedly paid one of his players $25 to hurt an 8-year-old mentally disabled teammate so he wouldn't have to put the boy in the game, police said Friday.
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Mark R. Downs Jr., 27, of Dunbar, is accused of offering one of his players the money to hit the boy in the head with a baseball, police said. Witnesses told police Downs didn't want the boy to play in the game because of his disability.

Police said the boy was hit in the head and in the groin with a baseball just before a game, and didn't play, police said.

"The coach was very competitive," state police Trooper Thomas B. Broadwater said. "He wanted to win."

Downs has an unpublished telephone number and couldn't immediately be reached for comment Friday. It was unclear whether he had an attorney.

He was arrested and arraigned Friday on charges including criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault and corruption of minors. He was released from jail on an unsecured bond.

The alleged assault happened June 27 in North Union Township, about 40 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, authorities said.

The boy's mother asked state police to investigate her son's injuries because she suspected Downs wanted to keep the boy off the field, despite a league rule that required each player to participate in three innings a game, Broadwater said.

Eric Forsythe, the president of the R.W. Clark Youth Baseball League, said Downs had two daughters on the T-ball team.

League organizers investigated accusations against Downs before the T-ball season ended earlier this month but could not prove that he did anything wrong. If Downs is convicted of any crime, he won't be allowed to be a coach next year, Forsythe said. The league is not affiliated with Little League International.

07/16/05 07:03 EDT

is jail and hurting a kid worth winning a little league game?

flybynight · Post by **flybynight** » July 17th, 2005, 4:01 pm

happened outside of pittsburgh

El-Moldo · Post by **El-Moldo** » July 17th, 2005, 5:12 pm

The real problem here is letting girls play. If they were not allowed to play, then this guy probably would not be coaching without his daughters on the team. Of course, if he were not coaching, then the incident would not have happened. You know, the ole' snowball effect.

El-Moldo · Post by **El-Moldo** » July 17th, 2005, 5:12 pm

Just funnin' with everyone. Let's not get NOW in an uproar.

flybynight · Post by **flybynight** » July 17th, 2005, 6:59 pm

like little leage being compared to ww2 moldo?

just joking....

El-Moldo · Post by **El-Moldo** » July 17th, 2005, 8:24 pm

Difference is, I wasn't FUNNIN' with anyone there.

flybynight · Post by **flybynight** » July 17th, 2005, 8:26 pm

o, ok

bfords16hmansMITCH · Post by **bfords16hmansMITCH** » July 19th, 2005, 11:44 am

I dont think it is a laughing matter.....if i guy wants to win A T-BALL game and would hit a mentally challenged boy than he needs jail-time and put in a psychology/ mental place himself......i like to win all every game to but that is just crazy........poor boy

count2infinity · Post by **count2infinity** » July 19th, 2005, 12:28 pm

i find it sad when the parents want to win more than the kids...i mean, seriously at that age, they're just out there having fun. Winning, losing, they mean nothing to the kids at that age, in fact they'll forget about it by the time they should actually care about winning. It's sad to see something like this happen and someone needs to punch that guy in the face...better yet, have all the kids take thier baseball bats to his knee caps...

flybynight · Post by **flybynight** » July 19th, 2005, 12:33 pm

remember the good ol days when you didnt eve keep score in teeball

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