Wrestling coaches said "water is for the weak". College wrestler dies searching for water

[Demovictory9]

https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/a-wrestler-died-of-heatstroke-his-college-will-17849065.php

A wrestler died of heatstroke. His college will pay his family $14M.

------

"They would literally make fun of him for drinking water," Moncus told The Washington Post. "They probably thought it was funny to withhold water that day."

But when Brace arrived, wrestling coaches often said that "water is for the weak" and didn't meet Brace's hydration needs, the lawsuit said. When Brace requested water breaks, coaches warned he would be punished and often asked, "Do you think you are special and are allowed more water?" the lawsuit states. Sometimes, a coach placed a water bottle over his crotch while spraying water into Brace's mouth, the lawsuit said.

---


Brace returned to the school's wrestling room and begged for water while lying on a mat, the lawsuit said. Coaches yelled at teammates who tried to provide Brace with water, the lawsuit stated. Brace said he felt his pupils shaking and thought his head was going to explode, as he pleaded, "I feel like I am going to die," the lawsuit alleged.

Brace then started talking nonsense, saying that he was going to leave in a parade and that he ate a fork, the lawsuit said. He yelled and cursed before charging and tackling a teammate, it said, and coaches demanded that he leave.


After exiting the building, Brace tried to find water. He located a water fountain that was nonfunctional and couldn't enter another building, the lawsuit said. Moments later, Brace collapsed about 250 yards from the wrestling room and was later declared dead, Moncus said.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

1. What a fucking dumbass

Staying hydrated is essential for any intense physical activity.

[The Magistrate]

2. That Is Murder, Sir

In heinous degree, being conducted by prolonged torture.

Coach ought to be staked out in the sun, ant-hill optional, and left for a week or so....

[roamer65]

4. At a very minimum, negligent/reckless homicide.

Very minimum.

The coaches should be charged, convicted and jailed.

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=19720

[Rebl2]

29. Agree

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

40. agree

[UpInArms]

19. On a fire ant hill full of fire ants

[Crunchy Frog]

43. Covered in jam and staked to an anthill.

[Takket]

3. Water is for the weak...

Which is why every professional sports league has a tank of it on the sideline.

[Demovictory9]

6. Thete ate surveliance pics of him pulling on door with all his strength

To get at water.. Very.sad

[ProfessorGAC]

7. With The Appropriate Electrolytes

Dehydration can also lead to hyponatremia which is also a killer.
These coaches are idiots & should be legally liable, personally.

[wnylib]

37. Criminally negligent homicide at the very least.

Last edited Mon Mar 20, 2023, 08:36 PM - Edit history (1)

But since they deliberately prevented him from getting water, they should face stronger charges. Would 2nd degree murder apply to this?

[ProfessorGAC]

38. I Think It Depends On The State

Here in Illinois, as I understand it, murder differs from murder 1 only in premeditation.
But, it requires the intent to do great bodily harm to someone.
If the law is like that in this case, proving that they intended to hurt this young man might be awfully hard to prove.
It's stupid & callous, so negligence sure seems to apply.

[wnylib]

45. Maybe manslaughter.

[ProfessorGAC]

46. Maybe

I'm not a lawyer.
But, I do have a family member (now deceased) then went to jail for manslaughter.
Crime of passion thing, but his actions were such that he WAS intending to do bodily harm. Maybe the prosecutor couldn't prove the intent was to cause grevious harm or something.
Despite the death involved, he was NOT considered a high risk and did his time in a minimum security prison. I do know he was highly contrite (sincerely so). Maybe all that factored in.

[jcgoldie]

5. Shades of hs wrestling

They always had us run stairs in the gym in plastic suits to sweat off pounds the day before a weigh-in.

[underpants]

13. Yep I had a couple friends who wrestled

Taped up in plastic bags. Windows to the wrestling room sealed shut. Watching them eat a piece of cheese and maybe a slice of bread for lunch.

[treestar]

8. I guess they proved to be right

he was so weak, he died.

This is toxic masculinity in action.

[Delphinus]

22. Toxic

masculinity in action - indeed. They had best be charged.

Poor young man.

[MontanaMama]

9. I hope the coaching staff are personally sued.

Wonder if the coaches are parents themselves?

[calimary]

33. And incarcerated for reckless endangerment and negligence

if not some sort of homicide charge.

[underpants]

10. I had no idea anyone still did this.

Playing football in the 80’s the coaches said the same thing. We had one water break in each of the two-a-days. Brutal Virginia peninsula heat and humidity. Never ever take your helmet off - that supposedly “makes a man out of you”.

[Johnny2X2X]

18. Same here

I remember water being withheld until drills were done. It was awful and you'd be close to passing out. And even then you'd end up waiting in line at the 1 or 2 drinking fountains they had. It was dangerous.

And they'd say things like, nobody gets a drink until the slowest guy finishes the drill. If we didn't do a drill right we'd be told no water until it's done right. It was brutal.

And we did this in 5th and 6th grade football and basketball. We were just little kids.

[rsdsharp]

20. I played in the late 60s early 70s. Coaches had the same mindset.

Two a days in August were brutal — especially the afternoons. Temperatures were usually in the 90s with high humidity. The only water break would be near the end of practice. Water came from one sprinkler head on a three foot extension. The entire team would sprint to the sprinkler and line up. Guys would catch water in their helmets and drink as much as possible before it ran out the ear holes, and the vent holes in the top of helmet.

[exboyfil]

21. Wrestling has some weak justification because you have to make weight

So you are weighed in in a dehydrated state. I wonder if a blood test can be done to disqualify individuals whose electrolytes are off?

There is no conceivable reason any other sport would do this. A bigger watch out should be consuming too much water as you pour it down athlete's throats.

[jcgoldie]

24. yeah the problem with making weight

Most coaches would try to get everyone to wrestle at a weight class or two below their natural weight. The idea was that you would do better against smaller guys but of course it also sapped your strength before every meet. They would run you in plastic sweats and starve you the night before and after you weighed in they would load you up on bananas and chocolate bars to try to pump some energy back into your emaciated body. Very healthy.

[exboyfil]

25. I live in Iowa now (moved here after college)

Wrestling wasn't something I thought about until I got here. I still find it amazing what these kids do to make weight.

As you said completely unhealthy. It is amazing how many competitive sports degenerate into something that leaves lifelong damage for a few years of glory.

My brother did sports in high school. He is still in pretty good shape, but his knees are shot. I never did sports, and I walk 25,000 steps a day. Even with being overweight (high was 353 pounds), I am able to walk four hours now with no pain in any joints now (I am down to 200 pounds). Walking has been a lifetime habit for me.

[calimary]

34. I am still SO grateful that our son never went out for sports.

He was the “music kid” and he went out for guitars and his “And-HOW!” vocals. Of course that, too, led to some trouble, but thankfully nothing that wasn’t survivable. And he did survive, Thank God!

[GenThePerservering]

47. It's not the sports

it's the terrible coaching. I speak as someone going into my 40th year of sports.

[calimary]

49. Sounds like a studied assessment.

You would know. I’m no specialist in this. Just glad he never got into contact sports. We would have done without a lot of great songs, musicianship, and stagecraft. Sometimes I wish he was still at it, cuz I really liked his songs! I thought they were outstanding and radio-friendly and all that. They did have fans! But he got tired of all that time on the road and wanted to shift gears. Probably needed to!

[ProfessorGAC]

41. After Reading Here...

...I must have played for some pretty enlightened coaches for the 60s & 70s.
Baseball, basketball, track; not one coach ever did stuff like denying a drink of water.
Of course, I've heard & read such things but, seeing how normal it was to those in this thread makes my experience perhaps more atypical than I thought.
And, our varsity b-ball coach was a "best conditioned team" nut. He wanted us to be able to keep running when the other team was dragging. But, he never stopped anyone from taking a drink if they were thirsty. Now, he was a health teacher one class each day (history the rest of the time.)
The idea, especially in 2023, that getting to dry & hot is not harmful is idiotic.

[H2O Man]

11. Recommended.

This is terrible.

There is a similar approach in boxing these days. This includes amateur and professionals. Many trainers -- possibly most -- advocate for serious reductions of "water weight" before the weigh-in. In the pros, the weigh-ins are the day before the fight, providing time to rehydrate. In the amateurs, it is same day weigh-ins.

I think it is foolish either way. I'll note that between 1975 and last year, I trained amateur and professionalfighters. I always wanted them to come in at their natural, strongest weight. No manipulation, since water is especially important in providing protection to the brain for punches to the head. Never had a pro fighter lose, and every amateur I trained won at least one Golden Gloves title.

My only experience with wrestling came in junior high and high school. I refused to cut weight by dehydrating in those years. Some coaches push it way, way too far.

[Joinfortmill]

12. One word - MURDER.

[republianmushroom]

14. Coach should be in prison.

[Tetrachloride]

15. Kentucky: University of the Cumberlands

[Silent3]

16. "They should have been trained on that; they should've recognized that."

The coaches shouldn't have been sadistic fuckheads. "Training" would help, but only to the extent that sadistic fuckheads would have a better idea when their poisonous attitudes might get them in trouble.

This kind of training (much like the training recommended for out-of-control police departments) is merely compensation for people lacking basic decency, people who shouldn't have power over other people in the first place.

[ShazzieB]

31. I think you got it right.

Who is attracted to a career that gives them the opportunity to be sadistic fuckheads to young athletes? People who are already sadistic fuckheads, that's who!

Just reading the posts in this thread makes it clear that this is a self-perpetuating system. Years of being treated this way in their own wrestling careers literally teaches these guys to be sadistic fuckheads, and by the time they're in charge, they gladly use the same tactics on the kids they're coaching.

I have no idea where to start to change it, but it absolutely needs to change!

[DET]

17. Unconscionable

Wrestling is a tough sport. Kids are ‘strongly encouraged’ by coaches to cut weight to compete in lower weight classes. That can mean starving themselves and depriving themselves of fluids. Among other things, kids will run laps in garbage bags to sweat the weight off. Personally, I think this is unsafe and abusive and it needs to stop. But it won’t as long as we value winning over health. These coaches appear to actually enjoy torturing their athletes; they need to be prosecuted.

[exboyfil]

23. This sadist is now coaching at a public high school

https://www.al.com/highschoolsports/2021/08/saraland-superintendent-responds-to-controversy-surrounding-wrestling-coach.html

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

42. his brother died at age 22

Countryman’s brother, John Hayden, was a legendary wrestler in the state of Alabama, winning five state titles and going 62-1 in his senior year with 44 wins. John Hayden died in September 2012 at the age of 22.

-----


John Hayden Countryman, who made Alabama wrestling history while at Prattville High School and whose family is synonymous with the sport in the Montgomery area, has died.

He was 22. The time and circumstances of his death were unknown Saturday.

https://usatodayhss.com/2012/legendary-prattville-wrestler-dies-countryman-22-was-record-setting-5-time-state-champion

[OldBaldy1701E]

26. Yet another example of BDFJs in action!

Big Dumb Frat Jocks rule the world. They are the rich ones. They are the powerful ones. Because we have been trained to see them as special, regardless of how much they suck donkey balls. Because they were/are good at sports. I have yet to see a BDFJ be anything but a BDFJ. We let them do this, so I cannot feel much in the way or surprise. Disgust, but not surprise.

(My father was like this as well, BTW. Wanted me to be 'tough'. Well, his jocular ways did the exact opposite. Thanks dad.)

[llashram]

27. damn!!!

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

39. yeah...here is pic of Brace desperately trying to get to water

[ColinC]

28. Not even the military -or at least the army, is this deranged

In bct we were required to were camelbacks on us at all time and if they weren’t filled all the way when checked we would be punished in some fun drill seargent style way. Yes we were tortured through rigorous exercise, but water was always available.


This is at least based on my experience at ft Jackson.

[flying_wahini]

30. We can all imagine how the Coach should be punished.

Oops, sorry isn’t gonna cut it. Sadistic MFr.

[Ferrets are Cool]

32. That is so fucked up. I hope they serves prison sentenses.

[PurgedVoter]

35. I have met coaches who did a good job of supporting students.

I retired from education. I knew quite a few coaches and several of them did a great job. I never could call that handful, "Coach." The majority were incurious bullies that should have never been allowed near children. There were three coaches that became principals that did decent jobs. The rest, who became principals and there were a lot of them, were monsters.

If we taught English or Math the way we teach athletics, there would be a graduating team of children who could read and a team that could do addition. The rest would learn nothing. Through all the years, I have never seen coaches reform anything on their own.

My first reform if I was in charge would be that no coach and no administrator would make more money than the average retiring teacher. How do they deserve more? Why should they have better insurance, better retirement and in many cases a parachute? In education the first priority should be education. Go figure.

[3catwoman3]

36. What era are these asshole coaches from?

I thought this school of thought was long debunked.

[Wingus Dingus]

44. What strange, sadistic people those coaches were.

Jesus Christ, everyone knows even animals/pets need free access to water.

[XanaDUer2]

48. One of our 70s punishments at gym

Was not allowing us fountain water.