Carol Perkins Talks About

I believe in giving every man the benefit of a doubt, but I am not sure if I can do that concerning the PRP football coach whose player died from over-exposure to the heat during practice.  I have been in situations or known of situations when athletes practiced with high fevers, ran so much they threw up, practiced in extreme heat, and the list goes on.  If parents put their feet down and say, "You're not going to practice", the players fear punishment.  Sit out a game or run laps.  Is there ever a time when a kid should participate in any activity with a heat index 107?  

Coaches are like gods to players and what they say is the supreme word.  Go against that word and they may pay the price.  In this case, the price was the boy's death.  Maybe other coaches who make poor judgments will learn from this.  

I'm sorry for all involved.  I'm sure the coach is a fine man, but the situation is not judging his personality, but his judgment.  All parents of athletes have been faced with keeping their child at home when he shouldn't practice or sending him on.  Most of the time, the coach has more authority than the parents.  It is a tough job that requires more than the knowledge of a sport.