Pleasure Ridge Park Football Coach Charged with Reckless Homicide
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PRP head coach David Jason Stinson has been indicted on the charge of reckless homicide for the death of one of his players. One of his players, 15 year old Max Gilpin died from heat stroke suffered during football practice. His body temerature reached 107 degrees.
From the facts I have read about the case, the coach and the school should be held accountable for this preventable death. From my experience as a trainer in the U.S. Army, hydration in heat exposure is taken very seriously and must be closely monitored. An Army commander in this situation would be relieved of command and face serious disciplinary sanctions.
In my opinion, many high school athletic coaches are not well trained in how to handle heat exposure. They use denying water as punishment and somehow they feel the kids need to tough it out. I feel this is inexcusable recklessness.
In the Army, we forced our soldiers to drink water even if they said they felt fine. We trained solders to look for signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion in their fellow soldiers. Teammates have to be trained how to look out for each other. In this regard, Coach Stinson failed miserably.
One of the purposes of the civil and criminal justice system is to influence behavior. By holding the coach and school accountable, hopefully other schools and coaches will make sure they are properly educated in how to train responsibly in hot weather and look out for the safety of our children.