The Football Coach

In September, a football player had a run-in with an assistant coach and was dismissed from the team. This player boasted loudly in school that he would get the head coach fired. I held a conference with the player, his parents and the assistant coach. The parents were satisfied that their son was wrong (what a refreshing attitude!) and I thought that was the end of it. The next week, the principal stopped me on a Thursday afternoon, showed me a document and told me the head coach was suspended because this player had alleged (to the principal) that the coach had physically abused another player. The principal's "investigation" was a complete surprise to me - why should I be involved, I was just the athletic director! I walked out to football practice and informed the assistants that they were in charge for Friday night's game.

The next day, just before lunch, I saw the head coach in the hallway. He had been reinstated - quickest suspension in history! Evidently no other player would corroborate the story. However, the damage was done. Under this new leadership, you were guilty until proven innocent.