plancher: take three

As an editor in college, I wrote about Ereck Plancher -- who, in 2008, collapsed and died at UCF's training facility after drills. I admittedly angled the piece to focus on pressure being that I was writing for a university setting. (I apologize for the redunfancy of pasted paragraphs from that link, it's a Wordpress malfunction from back in the day.) It was a mess of heat, a heart condition and coaches doing more than coaching. Indeed, I used the column as a soapbox to lash out out at the system because there's no coming back from a dead teen.

I was listening to the radio this morning and heard that the case was coming to a close. This is three years later. Negligence is the call from the jury. Plancher's parents are awarded $10 million. I doubt any monetary amount will heal their pain.

My position has not changed on this issue. It won't anytime soon. I am content with how I approached the piece given the setting I was in -- and I would do it again if I had to. I remember thinking about this story in our newspaper office; how could I make it relevant? That is what I came up with on deadline.

After the story was published, I was approached by someone who asked me how I justified knowing what college coaches go through. At the time, I think I said something rude, snarky like -- "freedom of speech, it's my column, I'm the sports editor." In hindsight, that should have been my time and place to say the following: The issue was not what the coaches did, it's what they didn't do. This turns into a moral issue, not a pride booster or boasting 40 times. Plancher was struggling mightily toward the end of his workout. What did the coaches do? Nothing. Then, as it goes, it was too late.

So, do I know what college coaches go through? No. I don't pretend that I do. I do know when enough is enough. You can't blame a kid for knowing when to call it quits with immeasurable pressure.