Coach appears to headbutt official

[so cal lurker]

Originally Posted by Adam

Agreed. I'm doubtful that this was his first violent outburst.

Many otherwise normal and professional folks lose their $!! in unexpected ways in the emotion of a sporting event -- a kind of emotionally charged event that doesn't happen in the same way in a classroom. Of course this guy should be sanctioned in his role as coach, and the criminal charges are not inappropriate. But judging an entire teaching career on a single moment on a basketball court is gross overreaching, as is assuming there must have been other misbehavior. Without any indication of inappropriate behavior in a classroom, I'm hard pressed to see why anyone would be stressed about a kid in the class -- I wouldn't. (Nor would I have any problem whatsoever reffing his game unless this was a repeat incident. He f'd up. He probably knows it. He's probably embarrassed by it. And I think it's unlikely to be a repeat. [I also think the school was completely right to fire him as a coach; I just don't see it as necessarily a life-time ban.])