As much as I complain about it, sometimes I’m guilty of standing around waiting to be offended. That’s exactly what I was doing with the story of the Orlando baseball coach who cut a pitcher with no legs from his high school baseball team.
In the sane corner, we have columnist Mike Thomas:
“There are no gentlemen’s agreements in high-school baseball,” says (friend and fellow coach) Brown. “When you are playing West Orange High, Wekiva or Apopka, that’s a whole different level of baseball. The game can’t change because you have a double amputee on the mound. That’s not to say Anthony can’t play the game. He’s just not where he needs to be right now.”
That’s why Bradley offered to make him manager. The Burruto family and their friends want him judged on his ability to play, with no special allowances for his disability.
That’s exactly what Bradley did, and now he is accused of discrimination.
How does Coach Bradley win? Clearly Burruto is an extraordinary young man to even be in the running, but “in the running” doesn’t mean “on the team.” When the coach tried to do right by the team using all of the right-by-the-team experience he has, he’s a callous jackass for pointing out that a guy with no legs isn’t so good at fielding bunts.
Ladies and gentlemen, behold hand-wringing righteousness as high art. Objective facts on the ground aren’t important; giving everyone a sugarlicious extra helping of We Did The Right Thing is.
Insert deliberate clapping here.
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A pitcher with no legs (yawn). A pitcher with no arms (WOW)!