Two youth baseball coaches in Indiana, Scott Kaletha and Mike Schwanke, who allegedly engaged in the homophobic taunting of one of his 12-year-old players were suspended for a year after an investigation earlier this summer. But that suspension has been overturned by local Park and Recreation Board on a 3-2 vote after nine hours of hearings and testimony. What's gross is that the coaches acknowledge they often call their players names like "homo and fag."
Garbacik’s [the superintendent who originally suspended the coaches] decision came after a two-month investigation that started with complaints a 12-year-old baseball player was being harassed. The boy’s parents contacted Garbacik in June after finding out their son was being called names such as “gay, fag, homo and queer” by other players.
Two youth baseball coaches in Indiana, Scott Kaletha and Mike Schwanke, who allegedly engaged in the homophobic taunting of one of his 12-year-old players were suspended for a year after an investigation earlier this summer. But that suspension has been overturned by local Park and Recreation Board on a 3-2 vote after nine hours of hearings and testimony. What’s gross is that the coaches acknowledge they often call their players names like “homo and fag.”
Garbacik’s [the superintendent who originally suspended the coaches] decision came after a two-month investigation that started with complaints a 12-year-old baseball player was being harassed. The boy’s parents contacted Garbacik in June after finding out their son was being called names such as “gay, fag, homo and queer” by other players.
Kaletha told Garbacik he was aware of the comments, but called it “joking and humor” and “just boys being boys.”
Both coaches said the comments had been made for some time, but they denied participating in the harassment. However, Kaletha said he often engages in name-calling with players and said it was a common practice among coaches when he was a young player to use words such as “homo and fag.”
Hat tip to Pat Griffin, who has contact info for the people who overturned the suspension.