Bergen Catholic Wrestling Program may be in a little hot water
- Thread starter Lion8286
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"Aggressive" meaning idiotic.
Reading the article, some of the things they cited might be legit, but some of them are just laughable. A coach in meathead capital New Jersey calling you "shredded" is some kind of harassment or abuse? A coach saying he loves a guy is harassment or abuse?
They'd better have a lot more evidence than that.
I say this without having read this complaint, but, having read many complaints, you often see "allegations" as reported in media as mere sentences in paragraphs that make less sense outside the context of the complaint. There are serious allegations here though, including recording the students naked, and the staff showing naked photos of themselves to students. And those allegations may also be explainable as someone's too-generous interpretation of "naked"--waist-up, for instance would be nothing different than what you see on students' Instagram accounts. I'll try to read complaint later when I have a chance so I can offer a less ignorant take.
Agreed. It's a really bad look - aggressively "victim shaming" right out of the box makes it look like there is something there.
Took a quick look at the complaint. Stuff about an assistant coach sending dick pics to wrestlers? I'm assuming that is not just made up and can be backed up prettily easily. Bad, bad, bad. An assistant coach fired for bullying wrestlers allowed back in the room? Offering scholarships in return for silence about prior sexual abuse? Oy. This is going to be ugly.
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Time will tell. Seems a bit of posturing now, with the facts not coming out till court, if it gets that far. The case isn't made in the news media, such as this article, though it does impact public opinion.
I agree that the article/video mentions some things that could be innocuous (while others are unambiguously terrible). But Tikk is right, context can change everything. If a coach tells a kid he looks “shredded” after a grueling group weight training workout, that may be harmless. But if he approaches a kid privately and says the same thing while surveying the kid‘s body and letting his eyes linger on certain areas, that conveys a different intent completely.
Read the complaint (Google Drive PDF here). Impression is that plaintiff's counsel is very competent and the coaches and school will have their hands full. The most problematic allegations, if factually accurate, can't easily be reinterpreted as harmless, though that'll be defense counsel's strategy, if they do indeed concede the accuracy of those facts. Those facts will be key and will rely on other witnesses, likely other wrestlers. Complaint suggests that plaintiffs' father left a paper trail, and that'll probably help them.
This is an assumption but I doubt the law firm that filed this would've filed it without being comfortable that it could show an evidentiary basis; whether that means they have photos and video referred throughout, I don't know, but I doubt this is entirely based on the say-so of the plaintiff and his father.
But then judging from the response plaintiff's father received from the coaching staff whenever he complained, at no time did the coaching staff view the allegations seriously. They accused the father of "deflecting" (difficult to know what that means in this context) and eventually retaliated against the wrestler, kicking him off the team. So is this because the coaching staff was right insofar as the allegations were so baseless that they didn't deserve a serious response? Or did the staff just negligently ignore numerous flashing red lights? Tough to tell.
Worth mentioning that there are 12 causes of action, some which I doubt will survive all the way to trial, but it's impressive.
I think there will be real public push-back against this lawsuit because it will be perceived as casting HS wrestling culture in a bad light. Many if not most coaches yell at their wrestlers at various points and it's easy to perceive some of that as personal. Where tough love ends and abuse begins might not be clear. Some will want to chalk plaintiff up to being a "snowflake." But that's going to be a lot of projecting, except by the wrestlers who are familiar with the plaintiff and either experienced or didn't experience the same thing, and viewed it through the same lens.
This is an assumption but I doubt the law firm that filed this would've filed it without being comfortable that it could show an evidentiary basis; whether that means they have photos and video referred throughout, I don't know, but I doubt this is entirely based on the say-so of the plaintiff and his father.
But then judging from the response plaintiff's father received from the coaching staff whenever he complained, at no time did the coaching staff view the allegations seriously. They accused the father of "deflecting" (difficult to know what that means in this context) and eventually retaliated against the wrestler, kicking him off the team. So is this because the coaching staff was right insofar as the allegations were so baseless that they didn't deserve a serious response? Or did the staff just negligently ignore numerous flashing red lights? Tough to tell.
Worth mentioning that there are 12 causes of action, some which I doubt will survive all the way to trial, but it's impressive.
I think there will be real public push-back against this lawsuit because it will be perceived as casting HS wrestling culture in a bad light. Many if not most coaches yell at their wrestlers at various points and it's easy to perceive some of that as personal. Where tough love ends and abuse begins might not be clear. Some will want to chalk plaintiff up to being a "snowflake." But that's going to be a lot of projecting, except by the wrestlers who are familiar with the plaintiff and either experienced or didn't experience the same thing, and viewed it through the same lens.
James Franklin made similar comments...
https://bwi.rivals.com/news/franklin-cam-brown-an-ideal-outside-linebacker-for-now
Yeah but didn't he contact a victim of sexual assault after he found out about his player's involvement?
"This is not the first time Coach Bell has been baselessly attacked and regrettably it's unlikely to be the last."
I kept going back to this comment that was made if defense of the coaches. I'm not sure what to make of the meaning or purpose.
A very small percentage of coaches around the country have been accused once and much less multiple times. Does this mean they are recruiting kids with a predisposition of making this up? I'm being somewhat facetious but why would someone just assume it's going to happen again in the future?
I kept going back to this comment that was made if defense of the coaches. I'm not sure what to make of the meaning or purpose.
A very small percentage of coaches around the country have been accused once and much less multiple times. Does this mean they are recruiting kids with a predisposition of making this up? I'm being somewhat facetious but why would someone just assume it's going to happen again in the future?
Just another example of why year after year more and more good people step away from coaching. Initial thought is it's BS but after if I've learned anything being a PSU fan , it's to let the process play out.
I don't know the whole history, but that quote isn't the only reference to there being a history. The complaint references "Defendant Bell [having] a history of allowing [bullying and abuse]..." and mentions the removal of coach Joseph Trause and Bell allowing Trause back into the room after his removal.
Why? Not like he's batting a thousand. Tries a bit too hard at times, then gets it wrong.
He's definitely taking an odd angle for his "persona," he's not the blunt straight shooter like Willie so to see him be so dismissive and passive aggressive is intriguing to me.
For example:
Probably not the best story, due to its sensitive content, to be pressing one's journalistic fingers on the scale with unsourced plaintiff-smearing innuendo. Write an actual story and get both sides on the record.
The FRL gang discussed this situation for half of their show this morning. I thought that they made some good points. Seemed to be very pro-Bell, but made sense, to me anyway.
Doesn't want them to sue? You have got to be kidding me. I hope Bell and Spataro's lawyers are working overtime tonight.
Part of me wants to see Bergen let him wrestle but only home events with his parents banned from the gym.
But too bad. Sue your way into the lineup? Bridge burned. Learn the lesson elsewhere, if you can find someone willing to take you.
Not only do I hope Bell and Spataro's lawyers are working OT, I hope they get to bill the kid's parents for it.
A little OT, but what the hell is going on in Muncy tonight?
Looks like the team is testifying before the school board, pleading to retain Denny Harer. Team finished 4th at state duals, top 10 at the individual tourney, had a state champ, and the board is trying to fire him?
Same kind of BS has happened since the beginning of youth sports. One parent doesn't like something the coach said or did, then recruits another parent and it spirals out of control. The school board only hears the negative stuff, so if they're not tuned into the sport, that's all they have to go on.
It's the reason my father-in-law got out when he did, although he didn't let it get to the school board level. He just had enough of the parent harping at him and decided it wasn't worth it any more.
Worst thing about youth sports is youth parents.
Creepy texts have come to the surface.
https://www.northjersey.com/story/n...anthony-asatrian-sex-abuse-lawsuit/933727002/
https://www.northjersey.com/story/n...anthony-asatrian-sex-abuse-lawsuit/933727002/
Seems plausible that the coach's intent was perfectly innocent and he's just this effusive guy who uses the word 'love' a bit too casually, but even assuming the most innocent intent it's easy to see why texts like that would screw with a 15-year old's head, and why he might hesitate to bring it up to anyone. Coach should have a better handle on boundaries and line-drawing.
Not sexual assault, but could certainly be construed as "grooming." I think we would need to see some texts with other wrestlers for context. If Bell is just a "i love you" kind of guy, there's nothing wrong with it.
I remember my AD giving all of the coaches a book to read where the coach ended every practice saying "i love you" to the kids. Personally, I threw up, but some coaches are like that.
I remember my AD giving all of the coaches a book to read where the coach ended every practice saying "i love you" to the kids. Personally, I threw up, but some coaches are like that.
I'm not sure I would call them creepy. I probably would have used different words. The fact is, that when you coach , you end up with a lot of sons. What I see here is a coach that says or types what most coaches feel. I dont know him personally, without that it's hard to judge. The text themselves show nothing but a coach telling him he cares about him. Crazy world that we live in , when the word love is automatically a sexual comment.
Creepy as hell. Inappropriate. Either the coach is an actual evil creep, or he is a creep by virtue of clueless social inappropriateness. Either way, I would not want my kid or any kid to interact with that person.
I vote that it is creepy.
I would never ever have texted anything like that to any of the girls I coached in soccer over 8 years, except my daughter.
On the rare occasions I had a kids phone #, I made sure the parent knew that I had it and I would mention to them if we had communicated.
This seems fishy to me
I would never ever have texted anything like that to any of the girls I coached in soccer over 8 years, except my daughter.
On the rare occasions I had a kids phone #, I made sure the parent knew that I had it and I would mention to them if we had communicated.
This seems fishy to me
Am curious, how often does texting occur between HS coaches and students? I know my brother in law will text his softball team when there is a change in practice / or game time, but texting aside from that seems odd.
I think the words if said aloud are no cause for concern, I am a “say I love you to people” kinda guy, but via text is a bit odd to me— but then again texting students at all seems werid in itself.
I think the words if said aloud are no cause for concern, I am a “say I love you to people” kinda guy, but via text is a bit odd to me— but then again texting students at all seems werid in itself.
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