A little off topic is a recent comment made by the father of an OE starting player. He believes Cauley shouldn't be allowed to play for ONW. He thinks he should be in Spearville. Fine. Parents have written letters to the school board to complain. The school board has decided, so far, to let Cauley pay for ONW. Fine.
OE parenting FAIL: The player's father point-blank said the OE football team will be out to injure Cauley when they play this fall. He said the players have circled the date, Cauley has a target on him, and they will be out for his knees.
OE dad: You are a douche bag for not putting a stop to that yourself. A dirty play from a SME player resulted in Simien's first shoulder dislocation; I was there and saw it. There's no place for that in high school sports.
What you should be teaching your kid and his teammates is that the school board and the KSHAA is where eligibility is decided. Once on the field, it's just about the game of football played hard and as well as you can, fair and square.
Cauley's a Kansas high school kid, not a Jihadist looking to whack your kid, a-hole. I will relay that conversation through OE and ONW administration in the meantime, but when the kid's own parent is talking like that and taking a glint of joy at the prospect of injuring another kid maybe I have a duty to put a light on that insanity in the hopes it brings Cauley a little protection.
Up until that point, I've always been impressed with how the community has supported OE athletics. Every observation. Every interaction. For that reason, I couldn't help but feel good for the success their teams have for the players and their fans. But, if for any reason Cauley gets injured in that game, I'll have a different view of that culture, fair or not.
