Holy Family University, a Catholic university in Philadelphia, PA, claims in its mission statement to educate students to "assume lifelong responsibilities towards God, society, and self". If that is truly the case, they need to take a hard line against their head basketball coach John O'Connor, as he would not appear to best represent the university's values.
Also, as Yahoo! Sports points out:
Division II coach suspended for assaulting player in practice [Yahoo! Sports]
Holy Family Incident On Tape [MyFOXPhilly]
Holy Family University's John O'Connor, a former assistant coach at Georgia Tech, has been suspended after a player filed a police report alleging that he had been assaulted during practice last month.
The...video obtained by MyFoxPhilly.com shows footage of O'Connor knocking sophomore Matt Kravchuk to the ground during a rebounding drill with a forearm shiver to the chest. O'Connor then kicks Kravchuk as he lay on the ground and screams at him to "get up."
When a dazed and bleeding Kravchuk walks toward the end of the line, O'Connor berates him again, yelling "Got a little blood on ya? Good." Finally O'Connor ends the incident moments later by kicking Kravchuk out of practice.This can't be the kind of publicity that Holy Family University is looking for. Surprisingly, this incident has not received that much mention outside of the Northeast U.S., possibly because this is a Division II basketball program. I would imagine that this would be a top story if this happened at a Division I school, but it probably wouldn't because Division I coaches know better.
Also, as Yahoo! Sports points out:
What's most appalling in this case is that O'Connor was allowed to coach five games after the incident before Holy Family University issued any penalty. Only once Kravchuk filed a police report and word of the altercation leaked to the media did the school then finally take action.Based on the video footage (available below at the link to MyFOXPhilly.com), it seems clear that O'Connor crossed the line, and this should be grounds for dismissal. Kicking the player while he was down on the ground showed a complete lack of respect and is inexcusable.
Division II coach suspended for assaulting player in practice [Yahoo! Sports]
Holy Family Incident On Tape [MyFOXPhilly]
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
