You lost a good one this year, Gaffney High School. You lost one of the best and you broke about 20 hearts.
Do you know why you lost him, Gaffney High School? Do you know why you lost the best athletic trainer you could have dreamed of?
You burned him out. You drained him. You made him dread coming to work. You made him become a sarcastic smart-a** who hated anything to do with football and its coaches. You overworked him and underpaid him. You did nothing when he offered half his salary to go to an assistant. You did nothing when he simply asked for help.
You showed your true colors, Gaffney High School. You showed that you are a school that cares more about football than anything else. You showed that you will do anything your precious king says, even if he says he'll hire 10 more football coaches to do nothing but stand on the sidelines before he hires an assistant athletic trainer. You showed that your athletes' health does not compare to how bad you want to win a game.
I'm ashamed, Gaffney High School. I'm ashamed that you wasted so much talent. I'm ashamed that you allow a coach to tell an athlete he's fine to play a day after he's received a concussion. I'm ashamed that you seem to think that anybody can do the job of an athletic trainer. I'm ashamed to think that my alma mater, the place I used to call home, has become a place that I no longer know.
Yes, he may have left on his own, but you forced him out. And if you fail to see that, I am sure you are also one of those who fails to see the corruption and disgrace that comes from coaches who do not care if their athletes are hurt.
So, Gaffney High School, before you blame him next time an athlete is critically injured, remember that you took him (and the 20 or so aspiring student AT's) for granted.
Anybody can tape an ankle, right?
