H.S. Coach Uses Hand Holding for Punishment

By Michelle Garcia

FOOTBALLX390 (PHOTOS.COM) | ADVOCATE.COM

A high school football coach allegedly made two players hold hands and run together as punishment during a recent practice, and is coming under fire for the action.

Officials from the Aurora Public Schools say they are investigating the claims that Coach Grant Pippert told freshmen Rafael Merced and another student to hold hands and run together after a brief altercation. The two were taunted by their teammates, who called them derogatory names. Merced told KMGH-TV News that he felt the experience was humiliating.

Aurora Public Schools spokeswoman Paula Hans released a statement saying, "We are investigating these allegations to determine if they are true. We are speaking with players, parents, and staff who may have been involved."

The coach's behavior can lead to a warning, suspension, or firing, Hans said.

Merced's mother, Tasha Martinez, said the coach "apologized for making them hold hands and said he used it as a means of team-building."

POST COMMENT(11) EMAIL PRINT RECOMMEND

‹‹Previous Article in Category | Next Article in Category››

Reader Comments

Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Liberto64
Date posted: 10/24/2009 4:21:53 PM
Hometown: Spain

Comment:
A coach has had a bit of brain?
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: David
Date posted: 10/21/2009 9:11:02 PM
Hometown: Houston

Comment:
For those of you that don't have a problem with what the coach did, you need to reread the article. This isn't about teaching the two boys to feel empathy for what gay people go through. This was done to humiliate the boys, and to reinforce the idea that two men holding hands is something to be mocked and made fun of in the worst possible way. To misconstrue this as something 'gay positive' is absolutely ludicrous. The teammates were yelling anti-gay verbal taunts at them.
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: bluecollarado
Date posted: 10/20/2009 11:09:31 AM
Hometown: Denver

Comment:
The coach did this knowing well that the team would be calling them derogatory names. This would be the equivelant of making them wear black face and the team calling them n*****s. He accomplished nothing but reinforcing gay stereotypes. How do you think this made any gay kids on the team feel?
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Ken
Date posted: 10/20/2009 10:07:49 AM
Hometown: Malden, Mass.

Comment:
To Conor in Ireland: Yes, the Advocate should be covering stories outside of the U.S. that are relevant to the Gay community, but like most American media outlets, the coverage of news seems to stop at the borders. There is a dismal dearth of foreign news in the American media. Thank goodness for the BBC, the CBC and other foreign news on the web.
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Conor
Date posted: 10/20/2009 9:46:57 AM
Hometown: Cobh, Ireland

Comment:
I would have expected that the Advocate would already have covered the story of Ireland's first openly gay athlete, and the popular support he is receiving in the country for coming out (read the story at irishcentral.com). But I guess a story about some obscure South Carolina politician saying something "offensive" about Jews is much more important to Advocate readers.
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Bob Smullen
Date posted: 10/20/2009 9:09:03 AM
Hometown: Hackensack, NJ

Comment:
Conor, I doubt most Americans would have a clue as to what hurling is. For such a large country, we Americans are quite provincial. But I hope the Advocate does cover this story. As for the American football coach, I would love it if all the ball players decided to hold hands and do their laps. My oh my, then what would Coach do?
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: W.F.
Date posted: 10/20/2009 8:46:22 AM
Hometown: New York

Comment:
In a weird way, I like this. I doubt the coach had anything other than using homophobia to humiliate two of his players, and that's nothing new. I'm guessing, though, that those players got a good taste of how even the simplest expression of affection between two men can bring derision and shame to them. It's a great, great lesson for them on how hard it is to be out.
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Mike
Date posted: 10/20/2009 8:30:19 AM
Hometown: Chicago

Comment:
Don't see anything wrong here except for the Coach not reprimanding the students who were taunting the two holding hands. Where's the punishment for that?
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: SteveMD2
Date posted: 10/20/2009 12:11:30 AM
Hometown: Baltimore

Comment:
In the society we live in, the coach was indirectly using the "punishment" to make them seem like fags to the machos around them. The only thing he should be coaching is teaching dogs in the pound to not dump in their food.
Back to top Post a Comment
Name: Conor
Date posted: 10/19/2009 10:27:07 PM
Hometown: Cobh, Ireland

Comment:
Huge story in Ireland today about one of that countries All-Star hurlers, Donal Og Cusack, 32, coming out as gay in his autobiography. How come the Advocate hasn't covered this?

PREVIOUS 1 2 NEXT

More Online Only

Washington D C View From Washington: Mullen's Moment

COMMENTARY: With Adm. Mike Mullen clearing the way, the LGBT movement has a clear shot at finally eliminating "don't ask, don't tell." But will activists seize the moment?

Photography Artist Spotlight: Didio

São Paulo photographer Didio says he enjoys observing the daily life of normal men. If these photographs tell us anything, it's that Brazil has raised the bar on what defines normal.

DVDs Hot Sheet: Sade, Channing Tatum

This week's hot sheet includes a movie about a gay romance in Jerusalem’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community... and shirtless performances by Channing Tatum and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Commentary The Upside of Open Relationships
COMMENTARY: Two new studies out of San Francisco show the majority of gay men thrive in open relationships. So why are we so committed to pursuing monogamy?

Books Jackie Collins Takes on Hollywood

From overdoses to horny old men to gay guys landing leading roles, best selling novelist Jackie Collins runs her mouth... and it's juicier than ever.

Sports Weir Comes Out ... Against Anti-Fur Activists

With one week to go before the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, irrepressible men’s figure skating star Johnny Weir talks about the threats that led him to rip tufts of fur from his long-program costume.

Music Stephin Merritt Keeps It Real

Stephin Merritt, the lead singer of the critically lauded group the Magnetic Fields, is one of the few openly gay artists in today's music world. Just don't call him "indie."

News Features The Strains of DADT on One Couple

Andrew Cirner tells the story of his relationship with a military man, evading "don't ask, don't tell," a blackmailing ex-lover, and the extreme steps his mother took to save the day.

Television Sarah Silverman's Wild Mustache Ride
The Sarah Silverman Program’s sporty, taboo-skewering star promises a very gay season and renews her vow to stay unmarried until there’s marriage equality.

Sports Saints Linebacker Fujita Tackles Gay Marriage

As New Orleans Saints linebacker Scott Fujita gears up for Super Bowl XLIV, Fujita talks to The Advocate about standing up for gay rights and against inequality, and about Tim Tebow's draft prospects thanks to Focus on the Family.

Commentary Mosbacher Family Affair

Nanette Gartrell pays tribute to former Secretary of Commerce Bob Mosbacher, the father of her partner, Dee. Mosbacher, one of the Republican Party’s most successful fund-raisers, passed away in January.

News Features The Faces of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"
Tuesday's Senate hearing sparked what promises to be the biggest discussion of "don't ask, don't tell" since the antigay policy was instituted in 1993. So The Advocate is spotlighting some of the biggest voices on both sides of the debate.

News Features They're Having a Baby

Thomas Moore, husband to fellow transgender man Scott, talks to The Advocate about helping his spouse get through nine months of doctor issues, baby showers, and bellyaches.

Prop 8 Prop. 8 Plaintiffs Speak
Jeff Zarrillo and Paul Katami, two of the four plaintiffs challenging California’s Prop. 8 in federal court, talk to Advocate.com about their resolve (and occasional nerves) during the testimony phase of the trial.

Music The Grammy Awards in Pictures

From Lady Gaga's many costume changes to Pink's wet and wild aerial act, take a look at the some of the highlights from Sunday night's Grammy awards.

DVDs Hot Sheet: Mel, Duhamel, lang, and Swank
A peek into what you'll be watching and listening to this week turns up zombies, Bette Davis, and Mel Gibson still kicking ass and taking names.

Books Book Excerpt: The Play That Changed My Life

Playwright Doug Wright, who was awarded the Pulitzer, a Tony, and a GLAAD Media Award for his play I Am My Own Wife, remembers how Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company inspired his illustrious career.

Activism Leaderless
Porn impresario Michael Lucas looks for the country’s gay Martin Luther King Jr., and finds little to celebrate.

Film Not Gay, Not Lesbian, But...

From Gaga to Fergie, Real World's Mike Manning to Michael Urie, The Advocate looks at celebs who like it both ways.

News Features Gay Rights (and Cruising) on the Super Bowl?

CBS opens the door to "advocacy" commercials during the Super Bowl. But a gay hookup site could score before a gay rights group does.

Society Life on the G-list: Episode 2

It may be the most cliché line in all of Hollywood: “What’s my motivation?” And for actor David Moretti, motivation does not include having just conquered Britney, Beyoncé, or J.Lo.