A high school baseball coach in Florida has been charged with battery for what has to be one of the more bizarre encounters in recent state history: An argument over putting air in car tires.
As reported by the Tallahassee Democrat and TV network WCTV, Tallahassee (Fla.) Maclay School head baseball coach Todd McCoy was charged in connection with an argument he had with then-Maclay assistant coach Chris Lewis after the team's game at Bainbridge (Ga.) High in late March.
The argument between the two coaches allegedly began shortly after the team arrived back in Tallahassee from the road trip when McCoy asked Lewis why he hadn't inflated a tire on the car he was driving, which had been used to transport team members back from the contest. As the argument between the two became heated, McCoy allegedly pushed Lewis to the ground.
Both men admitted that the argument took place in interviews with Maclay School headmaster William Jablon, with the headmaster suspending McCoy for a game and Lewis resigning from his position before the team played another game. However, according to information obtained by the Democrat, in an interview with the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Lewis indicated that he "had some extensive medical problems over the past few years and he was susceptible to physical damaged as a result."
McCoy defended himself by claiming that he had not pushed Lewis, who previously served as his pitching coach, but three eyewitnesses all corroborated Lewis' account of the altercation, which has now could lead to further changes in McCoy's status at the school.
"I'm still looking into it," Jablon told the Democrat. "I'll meet with my people tomorrow then I'll make a decision.
"There were two kids and a third witness there. They told me it was heated. They said it was like watching a coach and an umpire going at it, but there was no violence. It's a sad situation all the way around. I'm disappointed in both of them. It takes two to tango, and this is something that did not need to happen."
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