Basketball and Babies Don't Mix

Here's one that took me by surprise. Sort of.

A freshman high school girls basketball coach faces up to three years in prison (if convicted) for leaving her infant son in a running car while (and get this) she played basketball.

She wasn't shopping, she wasn't at the ex-boyfriend's, and you can bet she wasn't running to get the formula and extra Pampers.

She was playing basketball.

Now the alleged guilty party shall go nameless here (you can find her name out on the news or policewire in Mooresville, Ind., but this goes under the "what the hell were you thinking?" listings.

The probably-soon-to-be-ex-coach, 23, is an assistant basketball coach for her alma mater, Mooresville High School. I remember seeing her play when her team would face either Greenwood, Franklin or Whiteland, the teams I've regulary covered. I remember her being tall and a pretty decent player. Decent enough in fact to merit a college scholarship along the line.

I also remember asking a few Mooresville administrators about her. Where's she going to college? Can she play D1?

The response was, "she's a decent player, BUT she's really not the smartest girl in Mooresville." Interesting observations I thought, but when I look back at that conversation, which wasn't more than four years ago those people were spot on.

Unfortunately. For her, her son and the community.

Here's the story about "coach."

On January 30, police say the coach left her nine-month-old son alone in her unlocked car in the Mooresville High School parking lot. The car's flashers were on and the engine was left running. The police say during that time, the coach was busy playing basketball in the gym. This was supposedly a faculty vs. student game for homecoming.

The authorities had coach paged and asked her, well, "what was she thinking?"

Coach didn't miss a beat and said sonny boy "was okay" in the car.

The police beg to differ. I do too.

For one, it's not smart to leave a vehicle running and a small child in it. First, it's just not smart and second, would you leave that same child near a heated stove, in the tub with running water, next to a hungry pit bull?

Coach, without missing a beat, told the police sonny boy was sick and needed a nap, so she left him in the car to sleep while she played H-O-R-S-E, and besides, her brother was supposed to be keep an eye on sonny from outside the school.

Sorry, but this one time Big Brother wasn't watching.

When the policeman, who was only doing his job had the temerity to tell coach that sonny should be a top priority over a pick-up game, coach got a bit flustered and aggravated with him.

"I am (fill in the blank) and nobody would take my baby! People don't steal cars in Mooresville and besides, there are cameras everywhere!"

No apologies. No remorse and no excuses.

Even more depressing is the fact when the police called coach's mother, the mother berated the police officer for arresting her daughter.

Huh?

I guess the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree, worms and all. The mother was like her daughter in that she, too, thought she was immune to misfortune and did not think anything would have happened to sonny.

Well, after all the mumbo-jumbo, coach is charged with neglect of a dependent, a Class D felony, and if convicted she could face up to three years. That's a long time just for shooting a few baskets.

Coach is scheduled to appear in court later this month. Maybe mom should appear too as a classic example of why some parents shouldn't be allowed to procreate.

It's too late in this case and there can only be losers here.

Coach is an obvious loser. Mom too, but that's also obvious. The bad thing is baby sonny is the real loser and has the most to lose.

And he didn't even play.