When Athletic Coaching Turns Abusive

The high school student seems a bit too sensitive to be an athlete in a demanding sport, so his coaches tease him. But the teasing goes too far.

In a legal petition filed before the New Jersey commissioner of education, the student asserts his coaches threw baseballs into a pond and directed him to retrieve them while laughing at him. They unreasonably berated him for missing a practice due to a family vacation. They unfairly threatened to demote him to junior varsity. They hassled the student about how he threw a baseball when he had an injured wrist. The coaches forced the student to carry his catcher’s equipment to the field when they had no intention of allowing him to participate in the game.