H.S. basketball player recues ice fisherman

[dakota]

and gets benched for missing the team bus.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/hs-player-benched-ice-rescue-team-bus-article-1.2973340

[Fish Butcher]

The same here in Iowa. Probably most everywhere. Good rule for many reasons but................no excuses, no exceptions?

[Kobey]

We've gotten lazy and scared.  We have zero-tolerance policies because it's easier and no one can sue us for favoritism.  A kid who gives another an aspirin in school is just as guilty as one who gets caught selling crack.  No one is allowed to use common sense anymore.

[adkRoy]

We've gotten lazy and scared.  We have zero-tolerance policies because it's easier and no one can sue us for favoritism.  A kid who gives another an aspirin in school is just as guilty as one who gets caught selling crack. No one is allowed to use common sense anymore.

You can thank sue crazy parents and lawyers for that.

[Doorman1]

They should have a second line on the "Welcome To New York State" sign that reads "Home of The Frivolous Lawsuit"

[hardwater diehard]

Thank you to that young man for his volunteer service . I understand rules ...but this one needs to be rectified ...civil service duties/responsibilities and school spirt should be able to exist in this world . Change the rule to be more suited for common sense to be applied . 

[iowapackfan]

They should have a second line on the "Welcome To New York State" sign that reads "Home of The Frivolous Lawsuit"

I think that's pretty much anywhere these days

[JTDC]

Seems as though common sense has permanently left us.

[32footsteps]

I honestly don't have any sympathy for the kid....there's something missing in this story. 

To me it suggests a lack of communication between him and the coach.  Did the coach not know he was an EMT?  Did the kid not have a conversation with the coach about how he might be called away for an emergency call?  Did his parents not think "hey, maybe the coach ought to know about this" and call themselves? 

This doesn't require high level thinking.  Let the coach know when you sign up to be an EMT that you could be called away from stuff.  When I went through EMT training this sort of thing was covered....informing your employer, family, bowling team, etc. that you could be called upon to help someone out in an emergency.  Even if it wasn't covered, it's pretty obvious that when you sign up for this type of gig that you need to let anyone who might be impacted know how that you could be called away to respond to a call.  Again, realizing this doesn't take high level thinking.   

If he would have had a serious discussion with his coach before this incident none of this becomes an issue.  That's when a plan should have been put in place for this very simple "what if" scenario.  Getting called away from a team activity is very plausible.  If the kid did not realize that then he needs to own responsibility for this one. 

My gut tells me that the parents are now backtracking on it realizing that it would have been very, very simple to avoid this issue.  Either by the kid discussing it with their coach or them giving the coach a heads up themselves.  They now realized that them and their son messed up and are trying to get out ahead of the story in the media.  Quite the lesson to teach a young adult.  When your lack of communication deservedly fails you, just start whining to the media in order to get an emotional response from the public.  It will make the administration cave. 

[3300]

no good deed goes unpunished.

[BackCountry Kyle]

The kid knows what is important in life. Too bad it takes this kind of thing for some adults to figure that out too 

[DANMAN]

Another Example of news media creating a "story" with "limited knowledge" of all the facts

That's what sells newspapers  - controversy and quizzical oddities

National News - Really?

[Royalwapiti]

Another example of how screwed up our schools have become.  The administrators can no longer see each side of a story and make a decision.  They have to follow these hard and fast rules, "Zero Tolerance" garbage.   

These people are suppose to teach our kids, HA, they would get eaten alive in a real business where they had to stand on their own two feet and make decisions.

At least the kid knows what is important and what will mean more to him for the rest of his life.  It sure ain't a basketball game.

[fishermantim]

Another Example of news media creating a "story" with "limited knowledge" of all the facts

That's what sells newspapers  - controversy and quizzical oddities

National News - Really?

Yeah, because there are just way too many stories of good people doing good deeds and saving lives in the news anyway, right?

The part I find ironic is that the student must notify the coach if they cannot make the bus and will be driving themselves.
I guess the school authorities don't consider a life-threatening ordeal and rescue a viable reason for not calling.

How about this..."Sorry sir, I can't grab your hand and pull you to safety, as I have to call my coach to tell him I'll be missing the bus...sir, sir, SIR??? Now where did he go???"

There does need to be some logical consideration regarding events like this, so that students are being forced to give up these jobs (and possible career) experiences.

[zwiggles]

The coach sounds like he was aware of the rules and the situation. In my opinion he is at fault. The kid had texted (via a friend) the coach, and the coach knew what was going on. He should have told the kid the policy, and had the chief or his parents drop him off so he could play.

Seems like there is more to the story....

[TheManInBlack]

The coach may have been in a a no-win situation.  If that was a school or league rule, had he played the kid, the results could have been contested and they may have had to forfeit the game for playing an ineligible player.  Unfortunately, the coach has a responsibility to the whole team, not just one player.  So his hands might have been tied on that one.

What the real issue is, as others have been mentioned, are rules so stringent that they do not allow for reasonable exceptions.  That falls on the administration and league.  Its the same kind of thinking that causes situations like kindergarten kids being suspended from school for sexual harassment because some kid ran up to another and kissed her.  At some point, common sense has to be allowed to prevail...

In any event, the kid is a hero, and I think that he should sleep well at night knowing that he helped save some lives instead of playing in a basketball game.  He certainly seems to have his priorities straight!

[wildlifer100]

Lucas I applaud you for being willing to sacrifice yourself as a community volunteer.     
However, if you have time to text your friends you have time to call your coach.  Both the fire fighters and the coaches have a set of standards.   If you followed the rules there would have been no TV story.   I applaud the coach for holding you accountable.   

[Kobey]

Lucas I applaud you for being willing to sacrifice yourself as a community volunteer.     
However, if you have time to text your friends you have time to call your coach.  Both the fire fighters and the coaches have a set of standards.   If you followed the rules there would have been no TV story.   I applaud the coach for holding you accountable.

True, he didn't follow the rules and was at fault.  The problem some of us have with it is the lack of flexibility and common sense in our society.  The coach should have had the authority to make a decision on the spot, not just blindly follow the rules.  Things are so much different now than when I was in school.  Yes, tragedies can and do happen, but it seems like every time one does, more rules are put in place to "protect" the students.  I myself prefer to raise kids who learn responsibility with some risks than robots who only do what they're told.  Maybe that makes me a bad parent in today's world.
 

[Single Barrel]

If the kid is a gamer, you play him, make him do suicides at practice. You play to win, period.

[Evinrude58]

Another case of let's make rules with no exceptions allowed for common sense.
    Had a grandson (age 6 at the time) get cuffed, hauled to jail and suspended from school for 10 days (I did get them to drop the expulsion) for bringing a weapon to school. He found an old key chain that I had got in the 70's in a junk drawer and I let him keep it.  The weapon was a little switch blade knife on the key ring, total length less than a half inch with blade out and the blade part was shorter than the lead on a sharp pencil (which I pointed out) so maybe a hair over an 1/8th inch and from the closed position would not penetrate a klennex (we actually demonstrated this). Times have changed at his age I carried a  Case pocket knife with me all the time even used it at school. 50 years later you get busted for a key chain with a pretend knife on it, good thing he didn't take in the key chain I have with the tiny (1 inch) pistol on it or the one made from a bullet.