Super sad: Ohio HS xc runner dies after finishing 10th in race when tree falls on him

That's horrific. Feel for the teammates and parents.

No man is an island,
Entire of itself;
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less,
As well as if a promontory were:
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were.
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee.

Seems like a very strange tradition, no?

There is another thread on this

First, this is a horrible tragedy and sincere condolences to the young man's family and friends.

Second, yet another example of "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!". I can picture a bunch of dork ass excited XC boys climbing on this dead tree and rocking it back and forth to bring it down. Just a senseless and dumb thing to do. No foresight and no assessment of risk. Where is the coaching staff? Where is the team discipline around representing well and not acting a fool? You expect some teenaged boy behavior and it is mostly harmless. If this was a tradition, then the coaching staff should have been aware and should have established some ground rules.

This has already caused a fatality. It is also going to end the coaching and teaching careers of a few people plus cost the school district a multi-million dollar settlement.

Parents are lawyers, though not in Ohio. I shared this case with them. If he were just tugging on a tree and it fell on him, he only had himself to blame. If the other students pushed it on him, it’d become difficult without video evidence, but they’d probably issue a tearful apology and be fine.

Chalking every tragedy up to “stupid games, stupid prizes” is heartless even with your bolded opener.

I don’t know how you grew up, but teenagers doing this sort of thing seems very normal.

If this had taken place on my watch while at a meet, I guarantee that my AD, principal, superintendent, Human Resources, the school district’s attorneys, and the teachers union rep would be questioning me nonstop about everything that happened that afternoon. Where was I? Why were the kids unattended? Did I condone this? Was this my idea? Who started this tradition? Why did I allow such a tradition to exist? Etc.

If an athlete died under my supervision, I would be absolutely devastated. A medical condition, medical emergency, or an accident is one thing. A dead kid because a bunch of them were fooling around at a school sanctioned function is inexcusable and reflects on my lack of due diligence. My assistants and I would be in huge trouble.

Do stupid things earn stupid prizes.

Maybe some "traditions" just have to go away.

What a stupid tradition and way to die. Two kids that cut down a tree and accidentally killed a woman in an Ohio State Park a few years back were charged with, I think, manslaughter because it is illegal to fell a tree in state parks. Wonder if anyone gets charged here.

You have the story only partially correct. They did not fell a tree. It was a horrible tragedy and definitely not “accidental.” The kids were punks and got off easy.

cincinnati.com

Teen pleads guilty in death of woman killed by log in Hocking Hills

@enquirer

Victoria Schafer was killed when a log pushed off a cliff at Old Man’s Cave in Hocking Hills State Park struck her on Sept. 2, 2019.

Link:www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2020/09/...