Florida-coach-suspended-for-taking-in-homeless

[Betrayed]

http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Florida-coach-suspended-for-taking-in-homeless-p?urn=highschool-273393

[Jacket Mom]

I hope the community continues to support him...sad world we live in where our good deeds are interpreted as selfishness.

[HI_#20_Mom]

Half the football team in High Island lived and were fed by the football coaches last year.
No one said anything.
Come on now!

[purpleeagle]

Probably the only reason he took the kid in was because he was a good football player. Would he have taken a homeless kid in if he was not a good football player? How many more homeless kids has he taken in that were not football players?
As coach, he knew or should have known the rules.

[Backflipper]

It would be one thing if he had a great program and was making lots of money coaching. (like alot of head coaches) But, this guy was a teacher that happened to also be the head football coach. He was only paid an extra 3,800 bucks for being the coach.. I actually lived with my coach when my parents divorced. Stayed there for 6 weeks and wasnt a big deal.

[MoFo]

I like to look at the good in people and think that he had no alternative motive. Some times people will [i]"BLIND SIDE[/i]" you with their compassion for their fellow man

[HI_#20_Mom]

If he was a bad player would it have been justified? Just wondering?

Unless I misunderstood, he did not move him there to play football, he was already there.
Sure would have saved himself some trouble if he pretended like he didn’t care and had someone else takes care of the kid.
I appreciate that he was honest.

[knightrider]

Cold hearted rules they live by.  :(

[kville]

Is there no room for common sense? Of course he took him in because he was a ball player. He probably does not go to each student in the school and ask "Are you homeless? Do you want to live with me?" He had to have known and been close to this kid to even find out about his situation.  Maybe he broke a rule. But what is the intent of the rule? Its against the law to speed but if you are taking your wife to the hospital is a cop going to ticket you or escort you there? The intent of the rule is to keep coaches from moving some star player in just so they can play in his program. If that is what the coach did throw the book at him. If he gave a kid shelter and something to eat and that causes him problems shame on the system.

[D-VILLE]

[quote name="kville" post="861724" timestamp="1285875128"]
Is there no room for common sense? Of course he took him in because he was a ball player. He probably does not go to each student in the school and ask "Are you homeless? Do you want to live with me?" He had to have known and been close to this kid to even find out about his situation.  Maybe he broke a rule. But what is the intent of the rule? Its against the law to speed but if you are taking your wife to the hospital is a cop going to ticket you or escort you there? The intent of the rule is to keep coaches from moving some star player in just so they can play in his program. If that is what the coach did throw the book at him. If he gave a kid shelter and something to eat and that causes him problems shame on the system.
[/quote]

Well said

[FootballFan96]

[quote name="kville" post="861724" timestamp="1285875128"]
Is there no room for common sense? Of course he took him in because he was a ball player. He probably does not go to each student in the school and ask "Are you homeless? Do you want to live with me?" He had to have known and been close to this kid to even find out about his situation.  Maybe he broke a rule. But what is the intent of the rule? Its against the law to speed but if you are taking your wife to the hospital is a cop going to ticket you or escort you there? The intent of the rule is to keep coaches from moving some star player in just so they can play in his program. If that is what the coach did throw the book at him. If he gave a kid shelter and something to eat and that causes him problems shame on the system.
[/quote]

i dont think i or anyone else can say this any better...

well put.

[BearWolf]

[quote name="FootballFan96" post="861744" timestamp="1285877016"]
[quote author=kville link=topic=73747.msg861724#msg861724 date=1285875128]
Is there no room for common sense? Of course he took him in because he was a ball player. He probably does not go to each student in the school and ask "Are you homeless? Do you want to live with me?" He had to have known and been close to this kid to even find out about his situation.  Maybe he broke a rule. But what is the intent of the rule? Its against the law to speed but if you are taking your wife to the hospital is a cop going to ticket you or escort you there? The intent of the rule is to keep coaches from moving some star player in just so they can play in his program. If that is what the coach did throw the book at him. If he gave a kid shelter and something to eat and that causes him problems shame on the system.
[/quote]

i dont think i or anyone else can say this any better...

well put.
[/quote]i totally agree

[elhector1]

Some may wonder as one of the posters above did, if he took the kid in based on "talent".  How about, it wouldn't have mattered, if the kid was already part of his program? 

In addition, the school, and obviously the coach, "self-reported" meaning that they threw themselves under the bus.  If this was a case that truly violated the intent and the letter of the rule as written, the coach especially, wouldn't have cooperated, or come up with an excuse.  Instead, he seems to have chosen to put his neck on the line to protect the privacy of the student, and spare him further embarrassment.

Finally, the school has a "deal with it directly" approach to the problem of homelessness.  The coach did just that.  But that policy can be dangerous in today's accusatory, litiginous society.  What if a teacher takes in a student in the same straits as the student?  And then, what if, at the prompting of relatives of the student, the kid accuses the teacher of improper behavior?  Hard times we live in...

[raideroldtimer]

[quote name="purpleeagle" post="861693" timestamp="1285873163"]
Probably the only reason he took the kid in was because he was a good football player. Would he have taken a homeless kid in if he was not a good football player? How many more homeless kids has he taken in that were not football players?
As coach, he knew or should have known the rules.
[/quote]
Let's see, the coach gets, what was it, about a $3500.00 stipend for being the head coach, meaning he must really like football or they pay their regular teachers a boatload of money which I doubt. My guess is that even if he weren't the coach, if he was in close contact with this kid I have a feeling he would have taken him in.

[Guest Yo Gabba]

If it is found that the coach took in a player of his that was in a bad situation, and he losses his stipend, get his address I will send a "Thank You for being Compasionate" card with a little "green" encouragement in it.

[purpleeagle]

The coach knew the rules. He could have went to the district committee for a waiver. This committee is made up of people from  the district schools. It is not wrong to help the kid, but it is wrong to break the rules. He could have helped the kid by getting a waiver when he took him in and not have BROKEN THE RULES. If the committee would have turned the waiver down then the coach could still have taken the kid in and the kid not played football. Seems to me like there is more to it than just helping the kid.

[elhector1]

[quote name="purpleeagle" post="862481" timestamp="1285948493"]
The coach knew the rules. He could have went to the district committee for a waiver. This committee is made up of people from  the district schools. It is not wrong to help the kid, but it is wrong to break the rules. He could have helped the kid by getting a waiver when he took him in and not have BROKEN THE RULES. If the committee would have turned the waiver down then the coach could still have taken the kid in and the kid not played football. Seems to me like there is more to it than just helping the kid.
[/quote]

Come on eagle, admit that you're wrong here.  "Okay kid, you probably have to sleep on the street a couple of nights, but hey, I gotta paly fair".  Yeah, you've never been on the verge of no home, wondering where you had to go.  He did report it, and the whole point of the "rule" is to prevent big dollar districts from taking kids away from poorer districts.  These "rules" you speak about are circumvented all the time.  Instead of a "house" or a "place to live", it's a job from a booster.  How do you protect against that?  You don't.  You try your best, but you can't prove it.  In this case, I don't see anything more going on that a coach following school policy, as outlied in the story...they are REQUIRED to deal with the problem directly, instead of passing it off.  Additionally, how long has the "rules committee" taken to decide the coach's and the school's fate?  DO you honestly think they would have taken any less time if the coach had done it your way.  Good rule, but the rule did not apply in this instance, as the kid was already a student of that district and that school, and not one coming in.

[BUCman]

That is sorry of the Florida Sports Governing body.  After Ike we had kids live with us because they had lost everything.  The UIL as much as we like to bash them, told us to take care of the kids, and just send in paperwork, when we could.  Dr. Breithupt (spelling), even came down to HI personally to check on our kids, and to praise the actions of our coaching staff.  No HI is not a rich school district and losing those kids would have closed our school.  This is a case that the football team saved the school from extinction.