There are people in this
world who take life much too seriously.
The latest example of this took place in Hondo, Texas, in April of this
year where a Little League coach has been charged with disorderly conduct for
allegedly “mooning” his baseball team.
It is about the team photo. Those of you who have Little League experience one way or the other,
know that the team photo is a yearly tradition. On April 8, Coach Bob Ross’ team was due to have its picture
taken. The team consisted of children
ages ten to twelve.
Now, I realize there are a number of ways to get
people to smile for the camera; I’ve never quite understood why just about
every photographer I’ve run into has asked me to “say cheese.” I mean, what does cheese have to do with
smiling unless you are a mouse and this is your payday. Every once in a while, I’ll find a
photographer who will just say, “smile,” and to me that makes more sense. It has nothing to do with cheese, and he’s
asking me to do something to increase the quality of the picture.
In this case, Coach Ross decided to really loosen his
team up, and he proceeded to pull his pants partially down, asking his kids if,
”you want to see my better half?” This
was too much for Natasha Delk, the mother of a Little Leaguer who filed a
police report in Medina County and had Coach Ross arrested for disorderly
conduct. According to Ms. Delk, Coach
Ross’ actions were “repulsive.”
According to Ms. Delk when the alleged mooning took place, Coach
Ross took his six foot five inch, two hundred sixty pound frame, turned his
back to the kids, and, according to Ms. Delk, “you could see approximately
four inches of his posterior.”
Ms. Delk views this as a crime and something that should be
punished.
Coach Ross, in his defense, indicated that he
received no other complaints, and he did not actually moon his students. Coach Ross indicates that he didn’t bend
over, and that he took his pants down approximately two inches. He indicated that it was a joke.
So what do we have here now? Repulsive?
Well, it doesn’t sould like a pretty picture but, a crime? No!
Get a life, Ms. Delk. Yes,
the Coach may be a bit of a fool and he may well have acted in poor taste;
however, whether he did moon the children to get them to smile for their photo,
or whether, in fact, his description is correct (which sounds more like a
half-moon to me), this should not be in court.
Talk about a waste of funds and time and paper. I guess I’ll never understand people like
Natasha Delk and frankly I’m not in any hurry to do so. Why does every less than tasteful act or
statement have to end up as a criminal prosecution? Can you imagine a jury trial in which a team of youthful baseball
players have to take turns testifying as to whether or not Coach Ross’ pants
came down by two inches, four inches, or somewhere in between? Does Ms. Delk really want to put the
children through that? Does the Hondo
prosecutor really want to devote resources to this case?
As it is, Coach Ross is now former Coach Ross. Hondo has a grand total of 7,000
residents. He had been coaching for
five years, and he decided to step down so that the League would not have to
endure further embarrassment.
Hopefully, Natasha Delk will now back off. Ms. Delk, find something better to do
than over-react to a poor judgement made by a well-meaning Little League
coach. Yes, the now former Coach Ross
did something silly; however, it would have been over and done by now, and
somehow I don’t think the kids would have been exactly traumatized. Now it has become a big deal.
If I were given the option of going out to dinner
with Ms. Delk or with former Coach Ross, while neither prospect excites me
particularly, Coach Ross would get the nod.
Of course, he would have to agree to wear his suspenders!