At least some people have gained some perspective from the tragedy

[steve(thelil)]

A man accused of shooting his son's high school football coach in the chest had been barred from the school after several earlier confrontations, including "shoving and verbally abusing" coaches, authorities said.


Jeffrey Doyle Robertson, 45, went to Canton High school just after classes started Thursday and shot coach Gary Joe Kinne, apparently with a .45-caliber pistol, police said.

The coach, who also is the school's athletic director, was airlifted to a hospital in nearby Tyler, and a family spokesman said he was in critical condition. ...................


Rhonda Miller, a cousin of Robertson's wife, was among the relatives gathered outside the jail Thursday night to help support Robertson's wife and son.Miller said she didn't want Robertson portrayed as "a lunatic" because he wasn't the only one frustrated with the school's athletic program.

"A lot of parents are upset. This is not a single incident, and if they don't take care of it, it could escalate," she said, declining to elaborate.........

Canton is a town of about 3,500 some 60 miles east of Dallas, and is known for holding a massive flea market each month

[Tanager]

Escalate? Some nutjob blasts a hole in the coach with a .45, and she says it could escalate?

[Enforcer]

This guy may have taken it a bit too far, but it sounds like the coach was extremely unpopular. If the athletic program is as big a problem as this woman says, it sheds a somewhat different light on the incident.

[Slurpy]

Originally Posted by Tanager

Escalate? Some nutjob blasts a hole in the coach with a .45, and she says it could escalate?

"Screw you, we're from Texas" (title of some song I heard on the radio
recently..)

[Tanager]

Originally Posted by Larry Nagel

This guy may have taken it a bit too far, but it sounds like the coach was extremely unpopular.

I'd take that with a grain of salt. This is a close relative of the coach's family who might well want to make what sounds like attempted homicide by her loonytunes relative seem less indefensible.

[Enforcer]

Tan, my post was a joke!

I'm pretty good at this sh**, huh?

Searching for his swampland deeds,
Larry

[Jazzooo]

"Escalate?"

Yes, nukes.


FWIW, I knew it was a joke, Larry.

[moneyp]

"A man accused of shooting his son's high school football coach in the chest had been barred from the school..."

I started laughing at this point. Is he barred from anything else?

[Gentle Giant]

But what about the flea market? Is it still on?

[Dr Dave]

Well, I've always thought the best way to deal with an unpopular athletic coach at a high school is assassination.

Do they sell pistols at the flea market?

[clinthopson]

Them Texans just love to pack them shootin' arns and blast away at their coaches.

[Sergio Zamora]

Gun-toting psychos and high school football. Doesn't that pretty much define small-town Texas?

[jesus marion joseph]

See, here in the northeast, the coaches launch preemptive strikes:


Police: Coach mauled referee

By MARC PARRY
STAFF WRITER
SOUTH DENNIS - A high school coach playing in an adult hockey league Wednesday night knocked down and pummeled a referee who had sent him to the penalty box minutes earlier, police and witnesses said.


Michael Nugnes was named head coach of the Barnstable High School boys hockey team in 2002.

The referee, William Ahern, told the police that Michael Nugnes started to "gouge" his eyes after tripping him from behind and jumping on top of him.

Nugnes, the Barnstable High School boys hockey coach, then tore off Ahern's helmet and slammed his head against the ice three or four times before players pulled him off, the police said.

"He had blood coming from his eyes" in the locker room afterward, said Darren Fancy, the game's other referee.

The police arrested Nugnes, 36, at the Tony Kent Arena. He pleaded innocent in Orleans District Court yesterday morning to assault and battery with a dangerous weapon - the ice - and assault and battery with serious injury.

Ahern, 48, of West Bridgewater, suffered bruises on both eyes and on the back of his head. He was treated at Cape Cod Hospital Wednesday night and released, the police said.

Nugnes resigned as coach shortly after 8 a.m. yesterday in a phone call to Barnstable High School principal Pat Graves, said Barnstable Supt. Tom McDonald.

"And it was immediately accepted," McDonald said. "My take is whether you're a coach, an administrator, or a teacher, we're role models for kids. We have to set standards."

Nugnes did not return a telephone message left at his West Barnstable home yesterday. His lawyer, Drew Segadelli, called Nugnes "a great man and a great coach."

Segadelli rejected people "trying to characterize this as some kind of attack." The attorney cited witness reports that Ahern, instead of skating up and down the ice, stood by the bench and incited an altercation.

"I have one witness indicating he spit on my guy," Segadelli said of Ahern. He declined to identify his witnesses.



Sent to penalty box
The fight happened with 25 minutes left in the second game of a best-of-three championship series between the Advanced Embroidery and Labatt teams. Labatt had won the first game, 3-2, Monday night and was looking to lock up the series.
The 13-team league plays year-round at Tony Kent Monday and Wednesday nights, said arena manager Dottie Larkin. The players come from all over the Cape. Most are 30 to 40 years old.

Several dozen people occupied the dark green stands Wednesday night: players from the previous game, players waiting to play the next one, children.

Nugnes's team, Advanced Embroidery, trailed 2-1 when Ahern sent him to the penalty box for tripping. Nugnes served the penalty and returned to his team's bench, the police said.

"The call wasn't outrageous," said Frank Finn, who was there covering the game for the weekly sports paper he owns, Cape Cod Sports Report. "There was definitely body contact."

Fancy said he blew the whistle to resume play and dropped the puck. He saw Ahern talking to players on the bench.

Accounts of what they may have said vary.

Ron Nurse of Sandwich, a player waiting for the next game who watched the fight from 50 feet away, said he asked Nugnes what set him off right after the clash.

"The ref was giving me a hard time on the bench, and I was just sick of it," Nugnes said, according to Nurse. "He was telling me to shut up."

Dennis Police Capt. William Monahan said Nugnes was berating the referee in a conversation with his teammates, loud enough for Ahern to hear.

Segadelli said his client and other players were telling Ahern to do his job and watch the game instead of standing there.



Bloody attack
But four eyewitnesses interviewed by the Times yesterday agreed on what happened after those words were exchanged - when Nugnes bolted onto the ice.
"He came up from behind him and kicked his skates out and brought him down," Fancy said.

"He jumped over the boards and literally attacked the referee from behind," said one player, also waiting for the next game, who did not want to be named. "Just kept waling on him."

"I didn't see the referee try to throw a punch," he added. "He was just basically defending himself. He had his hands over his head and over his face."

Ahern lost consciousness, Monahan said. People in the stands gaped in disbelief, the player said. Eventually Ahern got up, Finn said.

"He was a little wobbly, bleeding, had blood trickling on his face," Finn said.

Nugnes alluded to some history with Ahern when interviewed by police afterwards, Monahan said.

Ahern's brother answered the phone at his home yesterday. He referred questions to attorney Michael Gillis.

Gillis said he was "not aware of any history between them." He noted that Ahern doesn't live in the area and was filling in for another referee Wednesday.

Also, he said Ahern had no plans to take any legal action against Nugnes.

"Hopefully the criminal justice system will make sure the appropriate justice is meted out," he said.

The assault and battery with a dangerous weapon charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison or 21/2 years in a house of correction with no more than a $5,000 fine.

The other assault charge carries a maximum term of five years in state prison or 21/2 in a house of correction with no more than a $5,000 fine.

Whatever happens, Larkin said yesterday morning, Nugnes's hockey days in Tony Kent are over.

"He will not be allowed in this rink again," she said.

Nugnes has been the head coach of the Barnstable boys hockey team since 2002. He earned $5,620 for the season, said Barnstable Athletic Director Steve Francis.



Former Sandwich coach
He led his team into the state tournament twice, meaning they won more than half the games they played, Francis said.
"He was a very passionate coach, and he loved the kids on the team," Francis said. "It's a real sad day for all of us."

Nugnes previously worked as the head hockey coach at Sandwich High School, Francis said. He has also served as the Barnstable assistant lacrosse coach last year.

Previously, he coached younger players for the Barnstable Youth Hockey Association, where Nugnes's own son now plays.

Barnstable coaches receive sportsmanship training at the beginning of the year and at the beginning of the season.




Of all the sports, the hottest tempers come out on the ice hockey rink, Francis said.

"I think it's the nature of the sport," he said. "It's a sport that has some violence in it. We try to call it controlled violence, but it's a fine line."

Staff writers K.C. MYERS and DOUG FRASER contributed to this report.

(Published: April 8, 2005)

Copyright © Cape Cod Times. All rights reserved.

[Tanager]

Originally Posted by Larry Nagel

Tan, my post was a joke!

I'm pretty good at this sh**, huh?

Searching for his swampland deeds,
Larry

Jesus, you got me. You bastard.