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Suffer not the children: HS Coach, Team accused of "bullying" after 91-0 rout

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Texas Dad Alleges Bullying in 91-0 Football Game - ABC News

This is hilarious. The parent of a loser is filing a bullying charge against the coach of a football team in Aledo, TX for a blowout win.

From the AP:

Texas high school coach Tim Buchanan benched his starters after only 21 plays, kept to a conservative ground game and even allowed the clock to run uninterrupted after halftime to hasten the final whistle. Still, his Bearcats won 91-0.

Now the coach is facing formal accusations of bullying.


The impressive victory for undefeated Aledo High School, a football powerhouse in suburban Fort Worth that has put up similar numbers against other schools, has forced an investigation after a parent from the opposing team filed a bullying complaint. The complaint, which must be investigated under state law, says Buchanan should have done more to prevent the lopsided score.


"It wasn't good for anybody," Buchanan said of the Friday win over Western Hills in a Class 4A matchup. "I've sat and gone over and over and over it on what we could have done differently. The score could have very easily been 150 to nothing."


Western Hills coach John Naylor told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he disagreed with the bullying allegation, which Buchanan said suggested his coaches "should have made their players ease up and quit playing that hard." Naylor did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment Tuesday.


Under state law, Aledo's principal must investigate the complaint and prepare a report. The complaint was filed with the school district, which the law requires to provide bullying complaint forms on its websites.


The University Interscholastic League, the governing body for high school sports in Texas, only has a mercy rule for six-man football that ends a game when one team gets ahead by 45 points by halftime or later. There is no mercy rule for 11-man football, though coaches can agree to end a game early, UIL spokeswoman Kate Hector said.


Buchanan said Tuesday he wasn't aware of that option.


There were about 1,500 fans still in the stands at the end of the game, most of them Aledo's, he said. About 5,000 were at the Bearcats' stadium in Aledo at the beginning because it was a recognition night for band members' parents. A cold front that brought rain added another reason to leave when the game started to get out of hand, Buchanan said.


While blowouts are not uncommon in Texas high school football, Aledo has racked up several of them this season, due in part to being placed in a new district that has not been as strong in football. The Bearcats' average victory margin in four district games is 77 points.


The University Interscholastic League bases its realignment decisions on enrollment and geographic location to minimize travel time, a move aimed at reducing class absences. When Aledo was placed in a different district before last season, its travel time to the furthest location was cut from two hours to about 35 miles, Buchanan said.


Buchanan's team, which is averaging 69.3 points a game with a 7-0 record, ran just 32 plays but scored on about every third one during Friday's game. Aledo rushed for 391 yards. It scored eight touchdowns on the ground, two each on passes and punt returns, and one on a fumble recovery.


"It certainly didn't seem like they were trying to run up the score in this case," Hector said.


Western Hills had 79 yards rushing and 67 yards passing.


The UIL follows NCAA rules, but most other states follow guidelines of the National Federation of State High School Associations, said Bob Colgate, the federation's director of sports and sports medicine.
 
Texas Dad Alleges Bullying in 91-0 Football Game - ABC News

This is hilarious. The parent of a loser is filing a bullying charge against the coach of a football team in Aledo, TX for a blowout win.

From the AP:

Since the rules said the game could end, the officials should have suggested it. Sans that? Let 'em all get some practice. It's just a damned game, for heaven's sake. Bullying?? Really??

Seems like "bullying" has joined the ranks of "racist" and "verbal abuse."
 
If the guy had left in the first string and was playing aggressive the whole game I'd say he was acting like a prick, I'm never a fan of running the score up like that. But since he seemed to do everything he could to limit the damage, I'd say tell the parent to grow a pair. It's just football.

But regardless, filing a complaint on something like this is just stupid.
 
I think the parents of the winning team should sue the other teams parents for raising players that sucked so bad.
 
Won't fly.

A suggestion for the league they are under? That would have worked better to institute a change for a mercy rule. Furthermore, a request to reconsider the structure of the league would have worked as well.
 
Bullying in no way applies to what happened here. The coaches actions even showed that they didn't run up the game and the parent crying "bullying" is an idiot.
 
I live not-too-far from Aledo. It's the school district in the area that people move to, in order for their kids to go to Aledo schools. It's a relatively small town with a good reputation for excellence and quality, and they are seemingly pretty demanding on their students and expect achievement. The team they played is from an area in West Fort Worth that has declined greatly over the past 30 years, as crime has risen, and businesses have moved out. I'm not at all surprised at the outcome of the game, and I don't buy for one second that there was any "bullying" involved.
 
Texas Dad Alleges Bullying in 91-0 Football Game - ABC News

This is hilarious. The parent of a loser is filing a bullying charge against the coach of a football team in Aledo, TX for a blowout win.

I cannot see it as bullying.

If the coach left in his first string players, then he acted in an unsportsmanlike fashion. Sportsmanship should be part of the game, especially at HS level, if he acted in such a manor, remove him from the league. If he did not act in such a manor, then what else was he supposed to do? Have his players just quit playing?

If both coaches agree, then the game can be ended according to the rules. But how many coaches even know this? Or officials at that level?
 
was involved in a similar situation a few years back
high school power house 4A fast pitch team blew out a much weaker team in its same division
the coach was suspended for 'running up the score'
but he didn't. the other team was simply awful. the pitcher could not find the plate. the girls had no defensive skills and no one taught them how to hit. their coach should have bee the one placed in time out
the suspended coach had his players bunt instead of swing away. the defense could not field a bunt
the winning team members did not take extra bases, as they normally would
the defense could not catch a cold, and their throws were weak and off target
the winning coach had his girls step off the bag before a pitch to give us umpires a reason to call them out, otherwise they would still be batting
all of his reasonable efforts were documented, signed and forwarded by the game officials, yet the coach was still suspended
he now coaches at a major college - quite successfully
his former high school's team is now only ordinary

in short, he was punished for being an exceptional coach
i fear the same abuse of authority may happen in tejas
 
I cannot see it as bullying.

If the coach left in his first string players, then he acted in an unsportsmanlike fashion. Sportsmanship should be part of the game, especially at HS level, if he acted in such a manor, remove him from the league. If he did not act in such a manor, then what else was he supposed to do? Have his players just quit playing?

If both coaches agree, then the game can be ended according to the rules. But how many coaches even know this? Or officials at that level?

Why would playing one's first-string players be considered unsportsman-like? Games are meant to be played to the best of your ability.
 
Why would playing one's first-string players be considered unsportsman-like? Games are meant to be played to the best of your ability.

it's one of the nuances of sports; an unwritten rule, but a widely accepted understanding. once the win is assured, you try to play your second/third string to make the remainder of the game more equal and to give the scrubs a chance to get some game time experience
when a coach does that, and does not take advantage of every opportunity to run up the score, then he is found to have been a 'good sport'
 
Definitely not bullying.

From the reports it sounds like the Coach did everything he reasonably could to not run up the score short of basically not playing....taking a knee every down, refusing to field punts, etc. Which, frankly, would be even more humilitating and upsetting to me as a player than losing by 90 and would be wrong to do to the kids on the winning team.

Ridiculous this even got submitted. Typical namby parents who are probably WAY to wrapped up in their kids sporting events
 
it's one of the nuances of sports; an unwritten rule, but a widely accepted understanding. once the win is assured, you try to play your second/third string to make the remainder of the game more equal and to give the scrubs a chance to get some game time experience
when a coach does that, and does not take advantage of every opportunity to run up the score, then he is found to have been a 'good sport'

Thank you. I a pretty sure you answered that a lot better than I ever could.
 
If the guy had left in the first string and was playing aggressive the whole game I'd say he was acting like a prick, I'm never a fan of running the score up like that. But since he seemed to do everything he could to limit the damage, I'd say tell the parent to grow a pair. It's just football.

But regardless, filing a complaint on something like this is just stupid.

exactly. I've been in that situation myself as a coach. We were so much better than the other team, there was nothing I could do short of telling my kids not to play to prevent a blowout. When you have every scrub on your team in the game and you are running the simplest plays you have and still scoring....wtf are you supposed to do?
 
It seems to me that the best thing to do would be to teach the losing team how to get ready for a game and play football.

Trying to hold back the winning team does not strike me as the most productive path.
 
it's one of the nuances of sports; an unwritten rule, but a widely accepted understanding. once the win is assured, you try to play your second/third string to make the remainder of the game more equal and to give the scrubs a chance to get some game time experience
when a coach does that, and does not take advantage of every opportunity to run up the score, then he is found to have been a 'good sport'

yep. as long as the coach ins't playing his starters, attempting on-side kicks, etc. I fail to see how this was unsportsmanlike.

In my state, if at the beginning of the 4th quarter on team is ahead by 30+ points, there will be a running clock (the clock doesn't stop for any reason)

For many teams, blowout games are the only chance that some players ever get to see game time.
 
Since the rules said the game could end, the officials should have suggested it. Sans that? Let 'em all get some practice. It's just a damned game, for heaven's sake. Bullying?? Really??

Seems like "bullying" has joined the ranks of "racist" and "verbal abuse."

Oh, yes! It is a mean world out there.
 
I have a dream that one day all cry babies will grow a spine and shut up. If you don't want to get destroyed all you have to do is not suck. No team should be told to take it easy because the other team sucks.
 
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exactly. I've been in that situation myself as a coach. We were so much better than the other team, there was nothing I could do short of telling my kids not to play to prevent a blowout. When you have every scrub on your team in the game and you are running the simplest plays you have and still scoring....wtf are you supposed to do?

I never faced that in football, but when I was a teenager I played tournament baseball and I remember not liking the ten run rule that they had, where if one team was up by ten in the 6 or whatever inning that the game was over. Even when my team was getting beaten really bad like that I always thought "shouldn't we try to get as much practice as possible against teams like this?". The parents would always get mad if another team were trying to run up the score once they were past ten, and though I hated losing, I don't ever remember getting pissed. Learn your lesson, you're never gonna win them all, play better next time.
 
I think the parents of the winning team should sue the other teams parents for raising players that sucked so bad.

You know, maybe you're on to something. We should probably have an automatic lawsuit after every game, even pro, because there must have been some kind of name-calling, trash talking, bias by the refs, or something that a lawyer could use to get it into court. I'm sure Congress, many of whom are lawyers, would be willing to pass legislation to smooth the path for this to happen.
 
I have a dream that one day all cry babies will grow a spine and shut up. If you don't want to get destroyed all you have to do is not suck. No one team should be told to take it easy because the other team sucks.

when I was in 9th grade, we played a team for the state championship. the score was 33-0 at the half. the opposing team had 12 yards of total offense the entire first half. Coach put all the scrubs in at the start of the second half and we still scored 20 more points (we didn't even make an attempt at the PAT the last two scores. went for 2 and the QB took a knee) We had 26 yards passing the entire game because Coach was trying not to score too quickly.
 
Saw a video with the coach being interviewed this morning. It doesn't seem like bullying and he seems like a genuinely nice guy.
 
It seems to me that the best thing to do would be to teach the losing team how to get ready for a game and play football.

Trying to hold back the winning team does not strike me as the most productive path.

ok, this accurate post promotes my rant of the day
we are doing things backwards
i officiate a lot of fast pitch games. and many of the coaches are not teaching ALL of the girls the fundamentals of the game. kids are not being taught to throw off of their back foot, or instructed how to position themselves for a catch, or square up for a bunt. most of the girls have no idea what they are going to do with the ball once it is hit to them; this is clearly a coaching shortcoming. the coaches tend to only focus on how the pitcher is performing. coach all of the kids damn it!

in contrast, in public schools (at least in my state), they have abandoned ability grouping the students. the misguided theory is that the slow kids will learn more if they are mainstreamed with the bright kids. bull ****. being around a fast student does not accelerate a weak student. but having the material presented to the fast students at a slow pace to accommodate the slow students only causes the advanced students to become average

the point is we need to mainstream the athletes and ability group the students. right now, we have it backwards
 
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