Football coach uses hand holding as punishment, or let's reinforce homophobia in public schools.

[Taumpy]

http://advocate.com//News/Daily_News...or_Punishment/


Apparently as a punishment for fighting, a high school football coach in Colorado had two of his players hold hands and run laps while the other players shouted things at them.

What the heck was this guy thinking? I really don't see how a coach doesn't realize that sort of thing is likely to get him disciplined or fired.

And speaking of "what the heck are they thinking", but from the other side, here's one of the comments posted after the article:

In a weird way, I like this. I doubt the coach had anything other than using homophobia to humiliate two of his players, and that's nothing new. I'm guessing, though, that those players got a good taste of how even the simplest expression of affection between two men can bring derision and shame to them. It's a great, great lesson for them on how hard it is to be out.

Yeah, okay. That's what they'll learn. More likely it'll just reinforce the idea in their minds that gay = bad.

[Zuul]

On the one hand, I can see the hand-holding exercise as being one of those "you've got to be a team" little things. And had it just been forcing them to do something together (like run laps) I wouldn't think anything of it. Maybe that's what the coach was going for originally. But, allowing the rest of the team to taunt them and use derogatory names? No, no excuse for that.

[Inner Stickler]

Well, there are excuses for it, they just happen to be stupid.

[Cluricaun]

That's nothing. I heard that the wrestling coach made the kids put on womens baithing suits and roll around on the floor with each other.

[OneCentStamp]

That's nothing. I heard that the wrestling coach made the kids put on womens baithing suits and roll around on the floor with each other.

We wear...the required...uniform.

[Sarahfeena]

We wear...the required...uniform.

Tights.

But seriously, this sounds kind of effed up to me. Whatever happened to doing pushups and windsprints?

[Exy]

Too bad he didn't make them do it naked, that would be pretty hot.

[Hatshepsut]

What a totally bizarre story. It's hard to believe any coach would not realize that this would lead to an uproar. I can imagine a world where making two guys who had fought run together while holding hands would teach them a valuable, heartwarming lesson ... but it's not the world we live in.