Youth baseball coach sued by family of 12-year-old player
“It was very, very stressful — the lawsuit itself and waiting for the lawsuit to come to trial. The whole thing really didn’t make a lot of sense.”
Mike Meissner coached a youth baseball team in North Carolina for sixteen years. “I think I’ve made a difference in some kids’ lives,” he says. He sought to teach his players not only about the game but about sportsmanship and being a good loser. But, when he thinks back on those sixteen years, the first thing that comes to mind is not the positive lessons he imparted upon his players — it is the lawsuit.
One Saturday during a pop fly drill, a player dove for a ball. The sun got in his eyes, the boy said, and, instead of landing in his glove, the ball hit him in the mouth. The players family sued Mike and the league.
“When I first heard about it,” says Marion Mayes, director of a nearby youth league in North Carolina, “I was kind of shocked because of the fact that that’s just normal play.”
The plaintiffs alleged that Mike had been negligent in conducting his drill. The lawsuit dragged on for years before going to trial. “It was very, very stressful,” Mike said.
At first, the plaintiffs named Mike as a defendant personally. After about a year, he was dropped from the case, but he was still subject to extensive depositions and trial preparations as the lawyers prepared to argue the plaintiffs’ claim that the league was responsible for Mike’s alleged negligence.
Finally, a jury decided that Mike was not negligent in conducting his pop fly drill that day.
Though he was eventually vindicated, the lawsuit still taints Mike’s memories of the many years he spent as a volunteer coach.
“What you don’t need is something like this discouraging people from the thought of going out and helping other children,” he says.
This video is part of the FacesOfLawsuitAbuse.org campaign.
Duration : 0:3:0
[youtube zRCZ9xlkTHQ]
Tags: abuse, baseball, Coach, facesoflawsuitabuse.org, grassroots, iamlawsuitabuse.org, lawsuit, Legal, outreach, player, reform, sports, tort
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
what happend i cant …
what happend i cant play the vid
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
thank god like …
thank god like this aint possible in Denmark…
dont know the exact law, but atleast to my knowlegde it involves common sence and happends…
if you get a scatch during sport, well thats life…
if you try and dry your cat in a microwave… well you just got a life lesson that cost you a pet… and so forth… imagine the paper we could save if we didnt need 200 pages instruction manuals, and contracts w/e to awoid lawsuits…
and just a: Grats on your new hobby/purchase! GOOD LUCK
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
these things happen …
these things happen, it’s part of the game. the same thing happened to me once: just a regular ground-ball drill, and the coach hit a line drive by accident instead and hit me square in the forehead.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
When do people take …
When do people take responsibility for there own selves? This is discussing.. Lawyers should be born as a bug in their next lives.. You know its a lawyer that dreamed all this up and encourage them to do this all for “Money”… Instead of realizing the value of sportsmanship life lessons etc.. Now is he not only hurting the coach here and the league. They are actually hurting all coaches and leagues through out the country now. As well as hurting the kids that actually may learn something.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
poor coach
poor coach
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
wow that kid’s …
wow that kid’s parents are douche bags. That’s so stupid, suing what appears to be a good man and a good coach because your kid got hurt probably because he sucks. Wow they said he was negligent in conducting the drill? Wtf, what was there to be negligent about? If the ball hits you in the face, you should have caught it. This is the dumbest thing i’ve ever heard.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
it was’nt anyones …
it was’nt anyones fault. it was a accident
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
wasnt the kid’s …
wasnt the kid’s fault, it’s his dad.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
this is up i …
this is up i think the kid was a homo
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
i thout parents …
i thout parents sighed waivers when playin sports my parents did for baseball
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
The same thing …
The same thing happened to me. There was a dip in the field, and I tripped and got hit in the face. It broke my jaw, but my parents didn’t trip and new it was my fault. People are crazy now a days.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Don’t parents sign …
Don’t parents sign waivers when getting their kids into sports?
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
i crushed my finger …
i crushed my finger in a baseball game and didnt sue anybody well considering ma dad is ma coach though but still i wouldnt have sued anybody for tht its natural to get an injury during sports.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
lol jesus christ. I …
lol jesus christ. I remember when I was 11 (now 19) and I was in little league. I got hit with a baseball so hard in the face as well as colliding with the left fielder. to sue someone for that is just ridiculous.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
i think the world …
i think the world needs a catastrophic disaster in which 99.9% of the population dies….. i would be willing to be one of the casualties if it stops this.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Don’t blame the kid …
Don’t blame the kid, blame the parents. I am guessing the kid just wants this to go away.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
There is a kid from …
There is a kid from Lithonia Ga. name Derrick Lewis thats interring druid hills high school next year. He is going to be one of most talented baseball players in the country in a few years look out for him (DERRICK LEWIS) and he wants to go to the University of Florida! Wow when you see this kid play youre going to say there must be a baseball heaven!
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
how is this a …
how is this a lawsuit on the coach! It was the kid’s fault for diving and you cant control where the ball drops.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
thats happened to …
thats happened to me too
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
i agree. in the US, …
i agree. in the US, people are like, oh let me find ways to set others up so that i can sue them and get money..
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Amazing… I got …
Amazing… I got hit in the nose with a baseball, My nose was bleeding and the rest of that week my nose was numb, lol you don’t see me suing my coach. God, sometimes I think that this world is crazy, wow, its really sad
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Disgusting! …
Disgusting! Parents like this are screwing up their children and don’t even know it! By doing this, you’re taking away one of the greatest childhood joys… that of learning and playing baseball… a great sport with teamwork. Probably some of the best times when I was younger were playing or watching a game. When your child grows up dysfunctional, blame yourself! You selfish twit! It wasn’t the teacher’s fault.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
Of course, if one …
Of course, if one kid bullies another kid, the parents of the victim can now sue you for NOT benching the bully.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
are you kidding? I …
are you kidding? I don’t even hold doors open for people any more because of lawsuit bullcrap.
July 10th, 2010 at 11:37 am
dont you have to …
dont you have to sign those wavers that say that say we dont take any responsibility for what injuries your child sustains or something?