A Jefferson County jury has acquitted former Pleasure Ridge Park High School football coach Jason Stinson on charges of reckless homicide and wanton endangerment in the death of a player in 2008.
The jury reached the verdict approximately 90 minutes after beginning deliberations in the case of sophomore lineman Max Gilpin's death from heat stroke.
Prosecutors contended that Stinson, 37, withheld water from players and ran them excessively in a series of sprints known as "gassers." Defense attorneys, however, presented former Kentucky chief medical examiner George Nichols and Daniel Danzl, chairman of the University of Louisville department of emergency medicine, who testified Gilpin was not dehydrated and that excessive running did not contribute to his heat stroke. They said more likely causes were Gilpin's prescription for Adderall, an amphetamine used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and his use of creatine, a supplement intended to build muscle mass, as well as a possible viral illness he suffered that day.
Despite Stinson's acquittal, the trial probably still will have repercussions in the coaching community. This past summer, the National Association of Athletic Trainers came out with guidelines that recommended high school football teams take longer breaks and avoid two-a-day practices during the first week of workouts.
"What comes out of this is that coaches and school districts and high school athletic associations will be more vigilant in the future," said Matt Mitten, director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University. "I think this was an effort from a prosecutor to send a clear signal that the coach crossed a line and this was a preventable death. But this would have been an unprecedented guilty verdict. Criminal prosecutions arising out of sports competitions or injuries from these competitions are extremely rare and convictions are even rarer still."
Stinson left court without speaking to reporters. Said one of the prosecutors, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Leland Hulbert, "I just spoke with (Gilpin's) family. I think it's very difficult for them. I think they feel like I do, they're kind of disappointed."
In his closing, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jon Heck said Stinson ran the Aug. 20, 2008, practice where Max collapsed like a "boot camp," running players on a hot day until someone quit the team, despite warning signs that players were in trouble.
But Alex Dathorne, an attorney for Stinson, lashed out at the prosecution for indicting the former coach, saying prosecutors wrongly rushed to judgment and then, because of media attention, refused to back down when they realized they were wrong.
"We're talking about a football practice," Dathorne told jurors. "Do you understand that?"
"We've got a man looking at prison time for being a football coach," Dathorne said, telling jurors that football is, in itself, a risk and Max's death three days after practice was an accident.
"Convict football, don't convict this man," Dathorne told jurors. "This man was doing what every coach in the country was doing that day."
Heck, however, said Stinson was in charge of children that day, not Marines or professional football players, and his conduct during the practice led to Max's heat stroke.
"They can't have free reign over our children to say what they want and do what they want because it's football," he said.
Max collapsed on a day when the heat index was 94 degrees. The 15-year-old lineman died Aug. 23, 2008, at Kosair Children's Hospital.
Prosecutors say Stinson withheld water from players and ran them excessively on the day Max collapsed.
Stinson, Heck said, ignored players vomiting, another player collapsing and Max shaking and stumbling during his final wind sprints.
And Heck argued, as the prosecution had done throughout the three-week trial, that Stinson did not help Max once he collapsed, even though the former coach was the only team official with training in heat illnesses.
"He did zero; he did nothing," Heck said.
But Dathorne said Stinson didn't see Max go down and that plenty of coaches, players and parents went to the sophomore lineman's aid when he collapsed.
And he criticized the prosecution for their handling of the case, saying they interviewed witnesses who came forward to the media about Stinson denying players water and then talked to those at the practice but never checked with medical experts to see if Max was dehydrated.
The defense brought in several experts who said Max was not dehydrated after his collapse.
"This case is over right there," Dathorne said.
The jury reached the verdict approximately 90 minutes after beginning deliberations in the case of sophomore lineman Max Gilpin's death from heat stroke.
Prosecutors contended that Stinson, 37, withheld water from players and ran them excessively in a series of sprints known as "gassers." Defense attorneys, however, presented former Kentucky chief medical examiner George Nichols and Daniel Danzl, chairman of the University of Louisville department of emergency medicine, who testified Gilpin was not dehydrated and that excessive running did not contribute to his heat stroke. They said more likely causes were Gilpin's prescription for Adderall, an amphetamine used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and his use of creatine, a supplement intended to build muscle mass, as well as a possible viral illness he suffered that day.
Despite Stinson's acquittal, the trial probably still will have repercussions in the coaching community. This past summer, the National Association of Athletic Trainers came out with guidelines that recommended high school football teams take longer breaks and avoid two-a-day practices during the first week of workouts.
"What comes out of this is that coaches and school districts and high school athletic associations will be more vigilant in the future," said Matt Mitten, director of the National Sports Law Institute at Marquette University. "I think this was an effort from a prosecutor to send a clear signal that the coach crossed a line and this was a preventable death. But this would have been an unprecedented guilty verdict. Criminal prosecutions arising out of sports competitions or injuries from these competitions are extremely rare and convictions are even rarer still."
Stinson left court without speaking to reporters. Said one of the prosecutors, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Leland Hulbert, "I just spoke with (Gilpin's) family. I think it's very difficult for them. I think they feel like I do, they're kind of disappointed."
In his closing, Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Jon Heck said Stinson ran the Aug. 20, 2008, practice where Max collapsed like a "boot camp," running players on a hot day until someone quit the team, despite warning signs that players were in trouble.
But Alex Dathorne, an attorney for Stinson, lashed out at the prosecution for indicting the former coach, saying prosecutors wrongly rushed to judgment and then, because of media attention, refused to back down when they realized they were wrong.
"We're talking about a football practice," Dathorne told jurors. "Do you understand that?"
"We've got a man looking at prison time for being a football coach," Dathorne said, telling jurors that football is, in itself, a risk and Max's death three days after practice was an accident.
"Convict football, don't convict this man," Dathorne told jurors. "This man was doing what every coach in the country was doing that day."
Heck, however, said Stinson was in charge of children that day, not Marines or professional football players, and his conduct during the practice led to Max's heat stroke.
"They can't have free reign over our children to say what they want and do what they want because it's football," he said.
Max collapsed on a day when the heat index was 94 degrees. The 15-year-old lineman died Aug. 23, 2008, at Kosair Children's Hospital.
Prosecutors say Stinson withheld water from players and ran them excessively on the day Max collapsed.
Stinson, Heck said, ignored players vomiting, another player collapsing and Max shaking and stumbling during his final wind sprints.
And Heck argued, as the prosecution had done throughout the three-week trial, that Stinson did not help Max once he collapsed, even though the former coach was the only team official with training in heat illnesses.
"He did zero; he did nothing," Heck said.
But Dathorne said Stinson didn't see Max go down and that plenty of coaches, players and parents went to the sophomore lineman's aid when he collapsed.
And he criticized the prosecution for their handling of the case, saying they interviewed witnesses who came forward to the media about Stinson denying players water and then talked to those at the practice but never checked with medical experts to see if Max was dehydrated.
The defense brought in several experts who said Max was not dehydrated after his collapse.
"This case is over right there," Dathorne said.
