PA - Coach Told Player to Injure Disabled Teammate, 8

mysteriew

A diamond in process
Joined
Jul 22, 2004
Messages
23,811
Reaction score
780
A youth baseball coach paid one of his players to hurt an 8-year-old mentally disabled teammate so the boy wouldn't be able to play in a game, state police said Friday.

Mark R. Downs Jr. (search), 27, of Dunbar, offered one of his players $25 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 T-ball game because of his disability.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,162680,00.html
 
I hope they charge this jerk with every possible criminal charge they can think of. I do believe there are federal laws protecting disabled persons from abuse - especially children. Then there's contributing to the deliquency of a minor - the kids he paid to hit the child. I'll bet there's a list a mile long of possible charges. Let's hope the prosecutor sees fit to nail him on every single one.

This is one of the more disturbing things I've heard in a while as far as kids sports go. I am praying this man ends up in PRISON...serving out a long sentence.
 
This guy is a coach of children. Some values he is teaching them. Win at all costs even if it means injuring a disabled child.

I put money on some parents not having a problem with this. I for one have a HUGE problem with it of course. But for other "parents" they will be saying: What is the problem...........

I have no doubt.......
 
The attorney representing a youth baseball coach accused of paying a player to hurt an 8-year-old mentally disabled teammate last month says his client is innocent and the whole case is the result of a misunderstanding.

Mark R. Downs Jr., 27, of Dunbar, was charged with offering one of his players $25 to hit the boy in the head with a baseball, 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.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/07/18/national/main709835.shtml
 
:loser: This coach is sick. I cannot believe he could actually be in charge of children. I hope they do a full backround check on this guy mysteryview. I hope we hear more about it..

Can you print any follow ups if you get any?

I wonder if anyone from the "Rights of the Disabled" are involved in this case as of yet.

I really am going to be sick. This is as nasty as it gets. I noticed somebody posted that probably some of the parents did not complain. I imagine this is true. With all that happens in sports today, I don't wonder if it doesn't even bother some. This is just outrageous. Years ago sports was for competition, not for hurting children, for building spirit, for growth, team unity, all that great stuff.

Now it is all about winning---- at all costs. I'm just sick over this. If there is an address, I would like to write. Espcially for all the disabled children of America. I spent my youth watching the Yankees and the Mets play with my Dad. We spent childhood on teams building character.

This man deserves to be punished to the highest extent and made an example out of. The problem today is that our sports stars are not good examples either. They slide on everything and do not set themselves above so children can look up to them but that is another story in itself.

I am just at a loss. I fought a few battles for the disabled and I read stuff like this and want to kick this guys azz myself.

Sorry for the explosion.. but glad you printed it.

Maybe I can write a few Sports stars that are examples.

Thank you mysteryview for all the updates...:D

To the coach....:razz: :razz:
 
You're welcome. I post updates as I see them, so yes if I see something I will be posting it. I am not following this story in particlular and often on a story like this, the sites I use won't be updating on this type of case. I would suggest that you make note of the websites that have the articles and check them out about once a month. Then you can follow it as it goes to court. (But if I do see something, I will post it).
 
Boy testifies against coach



An 8-year-old boy who told authorities he was bribed by his coach to throw a baseball at an autistic teammate testified yesterday that after he hit the teammate in the groin, the coach ordered him "to go out there and hit him harder." Keith Reese told Uniontown District Justice Deberah Kula that his coach, Mark Downs Jr., 27, not only offered him $25 on June 27 to hurl a ball at his teammate's head before a playoff game, but also goaded him into throwing another ball when the first one did not get the boy to pull out of the game.

At the end of the hearing, Kula ordered Downs held for trial on two counts of criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault,corruption of minors, conspiracy to commit simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. He will be arraigned Sept. 15.

Police have said Downs wanted to bench 9-year-old Harry Bowers Jr. because he is autistic and wasn't as good as the other players.

Downs, who did not testify, appeared to be calm and subdued as Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon brought up four witnesses who all claimed that Downs prodded Reese into throwing the ball.

Reese, one of the team's star players, testified that after he hit Bowers twice with a baseball as they played catch before a game, the coach altered the bribe.

As the team gathered for ice cream to celebrate after the game, Reese testified, Downs told him he would get $25 if he joined a fall league team. No money exchanged hands, Reese said.

Reese's father, Keith Reese Sr., said Downs confessed as he helped him with equipment after the game.

"He told me, 'I did something ignorant. I asked [Keith] to hit Harry with the ball.' "

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05210/545643.stm
 
UNIONTOWN, Pa. -- A T-ball coach's desire to win at all costs became a crime when he twice asked an 8-year-old boy to hurl baseballs at a disabled teammate for $25, a prosecutor said Tuesday.


The trial continues Wednesday.



Mark Downs Jr., 29, who lives in Dunbar, Pa., is charged with criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, corruption of minors and reckless endangerment.



Prosecutors said Downs did not want then-9-year old Harry Bowers Jr. to play in a T-ball playoff game last June because the boy didn't play as well as his teammates. Bowers has autism, mild mental retardation and a speech impairment.



So, prosecutors say, Bowers offered a player $25 to throw balls at Bowers to make sure he couldn't play.



Downs' attorney said his client was joking and it was taken out of context. The defense said Downs joked during an earlier game that he'd pay any of his players if they hit an umpire with a line drive, The Pittsburgh Tribune Review reported.



SEE LINK FOR ENTIRE ARTICLE. EDITED BY DP DUE TO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT


http://www.wjactv.com/news/9837361/detail.html
 
This is disgusting. And we wonder how some kids are so cruel. They are being taught this by adults that SHOULD KNOW BETTER!! Just horrible. I cannot imagine how that boys parents feel. It must just break their heart.
 
MrsMush99 said:
This is disgusting. And we wonder how some kids are so cruel. They are being taught this by adults that SHOULD KNOW BETTER!! Just horrible. I cannot imagine how that boys parents feel. It must just break their heart.
All three of my girls play softball and let me tell you...there are some really agressive coaches and kids. I have coached the last 3 years, and I go out thre with the attitude that I'm there to teach those kids how to play ball, sportsmanship and ultimately to have a good time. We have had parents and coaches from opposing teams come over and bad mouth our players and us. Fortunately I am on the softball board and have had some of them removed from the stands and the dugout for their conduct. I just don't get it, we have had disabled girls on our team from time to time and their team-mates are very protective of them. There was a wild pitcher on an opposing team one time and my daughter was up to bat. This girl nailed her right in the kidney with the ball. We were going to take her out and let a DR run the bases for her until my daughter found out that it would have to be the diabled girls on her team who was finshing out the year before spine surgery. My daughter at 9 YO stood up straight, brushed off her tears and walked to first ready to run the bases. She knew if they hit Courtney with the ball it would cripple her. How can these kids do this..don't there parents teach them right from wrong even if the coach is an *advertiser censored*!!
 
Baker, I bet they hit your daughter on purpose so that Courtney would be up. My daughter played one year of softball and that was enough for me and her. They never even let the kid play, and when they did let her it was for one or two innings. She did poorly, but they never gave her a chance to learn, and didn't teach her a darn thing!!! My son is up next, my hubby has been going outside with him teaching him how to hit. He seems to be a natural, but we'll see how it goes. I'm actually dreading it. Right now they bowl, and that seems to be a less competitive sport but at the same time teaches them team work.
 
This is outrageous. Our little league would not only give him a lifetime ban from coaching, he would also be used as an example in consecutive seasons.

I'm glad someone alerted the mother in this case.

He's no real coach....just a loser trying to be a coach. What a jerk.
 
MrsMush99 said:
Baker, I bet they hit your daughter on person so that Courtney would be up. My daughter played one year of softball and that was enough for me and her. They never even let the kid play, and when they did let her it was for one or two innings. She did poorly, but they never gave her a chance to learn, and didn't teach her a darn thing!!! My son is up next, my hubby has been going outside with him teaching him how to hit. He seems to be a natural, but we'll see how it goes. I'm actually dreading it. Right now they bowl, and that seems to be a less competitive sport but at the same time teaches them team work.
MrsMush--

Try to put your son in Little League program. There are many baseball/softball organzations thru parks & rec departments and such, but IMO, nothing compares to authentic Little League. They have very strict guidelines with young players as far as being fair about playing time. At the younger levels, it is an INSTRUCTIONAL league, versus a competitive league, and that makes all the difference in the world. Little League boards cannot overrule the regulations put in place by Little League Headquarters in Williamsport as far as equal playing time at the younger levels--and if they are a good board, they don't want to. Little League is a non-profit 501c entity, whereas many other programs are not non-profit. There is a huge difference. IMO, children learn more in a Little League program--they stress fairness & impartiality. Sure, a bad coach can infiltrate the best of leagues, but here they are swiftly removed at the first sign of unfair and unbecoming behavior.

If you have qualms about your son playing, maybe your hubby can volunteer to coach? Ha Ha, I volunteered my hubby years ago with my first son, and he hasn't stopped yet. We are a baseball family to the bone.
 
This guy was stressed that his T-ball team wouldn't win? Frickin' T-ball? Give me a break. I'd hate to see what this guy would do if it were a higher up division. He'd probably hire out Jeff Gillooly to take out a kid's knee.
 
MrsMush99 said:
Baker, I bet they hit your daughter on purpose so that Courtney would be up. My daughter played one year of softball and that was enough for me and her. They never even let the kid play, and when they did let her it was for one or two innings. She did poorly, but they never gave her a chance to learn, and didn't teach her a darn thing!!! My son is up next, my hubby has been going outside with him teaching him how to hit. He seems to be a natural, but we'll see how it goes. I'm actually dreading it. Right now they bowl, and that seems to be a less competitive sport but at the same time teaches them team work.
In our league, every kid plays, you can only sit a player out more than once, only if everybody else on the team has sat out once. Since Courtney was the last out, that's how they determine who can be the DR. They hit my daughter bc she is a good batter and the bases were loaded and they knew if they walked her that only meant one run versus 4 runs. My kid can hit at balls that aren't even in the box and make them sail. Sorry your daughter had such a bad experience, the sport can be fun when you have good coaches and good parents, JMO.
 
I work for an advocacy organization that supports children and adults with intellectual and cognitive disabilities. This just burns me up! For every positive step we take, there is some jack-*advertiser censored* like this coach who drags us back to the dark ages!! :furious:
 
Paladin said:
This guy was stressed that his T-ball team wouldn't win? Frickin' T-ball? Give me a break. I'd hate to see what this guy would do if it were a higher up division. He'd probably hire out Jeff Gillooly to take out a kid's knee.

LOL, Jeff Gillooly---now there's a name I haven't heard of for a while!!
 
bakerprune64 said:
In our league, every kid plays, you can only sit a player out more than once, only if everybody else on the team has sat out once. Since Courtney was the last out, that's how they determine who can be the DR. They hit my daughter bc she is a good batter and the bases were loaded and they knew if they walked her that only meant one run versus 4 runs. My kid can hit at balls that aren't even in the box and make them sail. Sorry your daughter had such a bad experience, the sport can be fun when you have good coaches and good parents, JMO.
This doesn't make sense to me. Don't they usually intentionally walk people in this case?
 

Members online

Online statistics

Members online
129
Guests online
1,033
Total visitors
1,162

Forum statistics

Threads
589,928
Messages
17,927,789
Members
228,003
Latest member
Knovah
Back
Top