• T-ball coach convicted in beaning of autistic boy

[rpannier]

UNIONTOWN, Pa. -- A youth baseball coach accused of offering an 8-year-old money to bean an autistic teammate so he couldn't play was convicted Thursday of two lesser charges against him, and evaded more serious charges

A jury convicted 29-year-old Mark R. Downs Jr. of corruption of minors and criminal solicitation to commit simple assault, Fayette County authorities said.

Downs was acquitted of criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, and jurors said they were deadlocked on a charge of reckless endangerment. The judge declared a mistrial on the endangerment charge.

Authorities said Downs offered to pay one of his T-ball players $25 to hit a 9-year-old autistic teammate with a ball while warming up before a June 2005 playoff game.

link to this article can be found at:
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2588156

[Redstone]

1. Good. It's just too bad they didn't throw the son of a bitch in jail for

25 years or so.

Redstone

[Fridays Child]

7. DA: "This is a serious breach of sportsmanlike conduct."

That's a masterpiece of understatement. I recall some pretty messed up coaches, from my sons' years of playing various sports, but this guy really takes the cake. He deserves prison time.

[Redstone]

9. Well, no shit, Sherlock. Some bright DAs they have there, yes?

Redstone

[mmonk]

2. Of course such garbage really bothers me since I

have an autistic son (now in college). One of the things that really gets me is that many of these judicial appointments that bush makes are people that are hostile to disability rights (some wanting to get rid of ADA). It's obvious from instances such as this our society has a long way to go in the area of human decency.

[saltpoint]

3. Very dispiriting. If you win by skill and hustle, you win clean. If you

win by intimidation or deception, you win dirty, and it stinks up the place.

Know what I mean, Ken Blackwell and Karl Rove?

[PassingFair]

11. Shithead coach would probably get PROMOTED

where I work.

This country blows.

Everything is rewarded until you get CAUGHT!

[saltpoint]

17. The parents of the batter have good reason to visit an attorney.

Seems like an actionable offense for a baseball coach to instruct a child to try to harm another child. Maybe the coach was channeling Ty Cobb.

Not to mention it's abominable conduct no matter what.

[Flying Dream Blues]

4. I hope he never gets near another kid. Too bad they can't lock him up

forever.

[Kiouni]

5. How much lower can you get?

That is probably one of the worst things i have heard concidering this is just a game!

[smalll]

6. The question I want answered about all this is ...

how did you get that DOT up there in your headline?!?

[Redstone]

10. Option-8 on the Mac. No idea how you do it in Windows.

Redstone

[smalll]

12. Thanks! I only half-suspected

it would turn out to be some dreary computer-snob wizardry. I was hoping it was something a little more random or inexplicable!

[rpannier]

15. If you go to espn.com

highlight the headline on their homepage and copy it takes the dot with it.

The dot is the bullet

• T-ball coach convicted in beaning of autistic boy

[Swamp Rat]

8. If it was my kid, I'd make sure Mark R. Downs Jr. got 'beaned' real good

with my soccer ball.

[Redstone]

13. From behind, at night, in the dark. I think a shot-put ball would

be better, myself. My father had one of those. Like a spherical hocky puck, it was.

Redstone

[Nye Bevan]

14. • Just seeing if I can copy and paste the dot

on edit: it worked!

[aaronbees]

16. So many disturbing things in here

Particularly that Reese Jr. first threw a ball that hit the kid in the groin ... then went back for more to bean him in the head! If that's not willful instructions to do "serious bodily harm," what the fuck is? Weren't they essentially trying to "take him out"?? Bowers got bruises and an ear infection; that's enough for me and I think this verdict blows. This Downs creep deserves at very least some jail time.