July 17, 200520 yr Cops: T-Ball Coach Took 'Hit' On Challenged Player POSTED: 2:16 pm EDT July 15, 2005 UPDATED: 6:40 pm EDT July 15, 2005 NORTH UNION TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- A T-ball coach seeking to keep a player with a mental disability off the field allegedly asked another player to hurt the boy, state police said Friday. The alleged incident happened June 27 at R.W. Clark Little League Field in North Union Township, Fayette County, police said. During pre-game warmups, Mark Reed Downs Jr. offered one of his players $25 to hit the 8-year-old boy in the head with a baseball, according to a police news release. After speaking with Downs, the second player hit the victim near his left ear and in the groin area, leaving him unable to play in that night's game, state police said. "The coach seemed to find excuses not to play this child because he wasn't that talented," Trooper Thomas Broadwater told Channel 4 Action News. "On the 27th, the child was basically beaned in the head with a baseball." The injured boy's mother was suspicious, so she approached the player who threw the ball and he told her about the payment offer, Broadwater said. Downs, 27, of Dunbar, was charged Friday with criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, corruption of minors and reckless endangerment. He is free on bond and faces a preliminary hearing on July 28. Copyright 2005 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. T-Ball!! What a f***wad.
July 17, 200520 yr QUOTE(Texsox @ Jul 16, 2005 -> 06:26 PM) T-Ball!! What a f***wad. Is it just me or is it totally hilarious that the coach's last name is Downs yet he is trying to discriminate against retarded kids? For all the news stories now he's gonna be called Mr. Downs.
July 17, 200520 yr Author QUOTE(LowerCaseRepublican @ Jul 16, 2005 -> 07:38 PM) Is it just me or is it totally hilarious that the coach's last name is Downs yet he is trying to discriminate against retarded kids? For all the news stories now he's gonna be called Mr. Downs. And the Psychologists will start calling over zealous T-ball coaches as having Downs Syndrome
July 17, 200520 yr QUOTE(Texsox @ Jul 16, 2005 -> 06:41 PM) And the Psychologists will start calling over zealous T-ball coaches as having Downs Syndrome Exactly!
July 17, 200520 yr I'm confused. It says he hit the boy in the head AND in the groin. With one pitch? Or did he throw at him twice?......... or did he actually punch the kid?
July 17, 200520 yr QUOTE(ScottPodRulez22 @ Jul 16, 2005 -> 09:36 PM) wow just wow its fricken t-ball who cares who wins or loses That's the thing that is most disturbing... In T-Ball...YOU DON'T KEEP SCORE!!!! No one wins or loses!!! What a f***wad.
July 17, 200520 yr QUOTE(RibbieRubarb @ Jul 17, 2005 -> 03:41 AM) That's the thing that is most disturbing... In T-Ball...YOU DON'T KEEP SCORE!!!! No one wins or loses!!! What a f***wad. My younger boy played t-ball this year, and they did keep score. However, none of the kids threw hard enough that if it his another kid it would prevent them from playing! That is just sad.
July 17, 200520 yr QUOTE(EvilMonkey @ Jul 17, 2005 -> 12:00 AM) My younger boy played t-ball this year, and they did keep score. However, none of the kids threw hard enough that if it his another kid it would prevent them from playing! That is just sad. Id imagine if you got hit by a baseball in the head no matter how hard it was thrown it would hurt not keep you out of a game but hurt. Know imagine if you a kid and you got hit by that baseball in the head i doubt your going to play even after your done crying.
July 17, 200520 yr QUOTE(ScottPodRulez22 @ Jul 17, 2005 -> 12:09 AM) Id imagine if you got hit by a baseball in the head no matter how hard it was thrown it would hurt not keep you out of a game but hurt. Know imagine if you a kid and you got hit by that baseball in the head i doubt your going to play even after your done crying. Do you go to summer school?
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