Unhappy South Dakota parents take coach to court
 

I'm glad my parents didn't act this way......


Today's Sports Briefs

By From Staff & Wire Reports

PUBLISHED: January 2, 2007

Unhappy parents take coach to court
BROOKINGS – The parents of some Deubrook High School boys basketball players have taken a long-running dispute with the team’s coach to court.
The matter, heard Wednesday in Brookings by Circuit Judge David Gienapp, is an administrative appeal of the Deubrook School Board’s decision to rehire Darwin Hofer as coach.
Some of the parents have disagreed with Hofer about playing time and the rotation of players.
The judge is expected to decide the matter by Jan. 10.
One of the parents bringing the case, Tim Trooien of White, said the group’s main concern is Hofer’s coaching and the rotation of players. They say neither the coach nor the school board have adequately addressed their concerns.
The superintendent, Kevin Keenaghan, told the judge the team is winning, that no players are being mistreated and that seniors are not guaranteed playing time. He also said he’d rather the parents focus on academics with sports as part of a well-rounded education.
Meetings the disgruntled parents had with Hofer amounted to “tag-team harassment,” the superintendent said.
“Why should a person have to stand people questioning everything you do?” Keenaghan said.
“We value our educational programs here and take them seriously,” Trooien said. “The staff and administration are employees of the school district, which is property of taxpayers and parents who expect accountability. Unfortunately, some people seem to have forgotten that.”

Every now and then, I think I might like to coach. Thanks for knocking me back into reality.

I don't see how this case even makes it into court. What legal issue is at stake here? Why is the coach the target of the case, if the parents are unhappy about the hiring by the school board? Perhaps he's not and the reporting is just sloppy. I could see some possibility of suing the school board or the superintendent over the hiring policy.

I agree completely. I find it difficult to believe that any reasonable judge even scheduled a hearing before dismissing this sucker.

The way for the parents to "fix" this is to vote the people off the school board and then change the policies. Anything else is an attempt at usurping the electoral process.

If someone pays for the right to sue, they should have a hearing. To my understanding a hearing is where a case can be dismissed by a judge. The judge has to hear the issues at hand before dismissing the case. I am sure different jurisdictions have different rules to this, but you have to allow a case to take its course first. Also we are not hearing the entire story or all the issues at hand. It sounds ridiculous, but that does not mean that we all understand the procedures that must be followed.

Peace

Jeff, that's a fair enough point. But I'd say there ought to be repercussions for instigating such frivolous suits, some sort of compensation paid to the defendant and to the state to recoup associated costs.

Adam

That is a separate issue. But for all we know, this could go to court and the issues filed in the brief might have some valid point of view (from the law's point of view) not just the one you and I hold. Also what might seem frivolous to you and I, might be totally legitimate to others. All we know is there is a lawsuit filed. We do not know all the circumstances behind the lawsuit.

Peace

In my opinion, there would have to be something major not being reported contributing to the parents' distress. But by their own admission in the news story (admittedly not a definitive source), their concerns are about playing time and player rotation. Most of us played sports, and know there were parents who thought there kids deserved more playing time. You don't take this to court; it's a waste of taxpayer dollars and there ought to be some sort of way of recouping that expense.
Now, I'll concede that there's a lot missing from this story that could affect how I'd view it.

I'd love to see this on Judge Judy. :)

While I am the biggest proponent of waiting until all information is in before making comments or judgments, I'm wondering: can you give me an example of what fact is missing here that would justify a court hearing in this scenario?

I can't think of one.

I coached many years before I retired and got a real job refereeing. I was fortunate to have a superintendent who stated many times that we were hired to coach and they would not get involved in playing time or cutting of players. I guess it was a simpler time before the judges and lawyers got involved. All parents think their kids should be playing more. I was only confronted once by parents. I guess I was lucky and got out in time. BEREF, please keep us informed on how this plays out.

Unless said person is a referee! :rolleyes:

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I wish this would have gone to Judge Judy. Can't you hear the monologue that would come after she yells, "I'm Speaking!" :mad: This article shows a ridiculous bunch of whining parents tying up the court system with pure stupidity! Common sense is a rare commodity today especially when it comes to sports! This is a sad commentary!

This is not a sad commentary. You are sad having such a narrow minded view of the world and reality. Here's the deal for you that are still living out of the past. When you live in a school system and you pay taxes in that school system. You pay taxes for an athletic program which must represent the people that live in that area. However, some schools particularly in the metropolitan areas have circumvented the process and come up with this new term called the open enrollment process where any student from any local district can go to any high school they choice. This has created 2 problems. #1.)Increase the need for schools to win. #2.) Students from out of the district can transfer in and dominate playing time. That is play in districts where the tax dollars can come from a completely different group of people that pay the taxes for that area. Hence, the lawsuit. I think we should pay very close attention to this lawsuit. I think it is a legitimate lawsuit. However, some of these high schools have ties to DI colleges which makes this an even bigger deal.