Reuben Riley fired from Wyoming coaching job for being "too physical"

Submitted by Boner Stabone on

Not sure if anyone saw this, but I think this absolutely sucks for Ruben.  A Michigan guy just doing his job and some disrespectful student goes off and possibly ruins a great guy's career.  Hopefully, there are some good MGO Lawyers out there to help Ruben get his job back.  This just makes me sick.

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/01/wyoming_schools_coach_fired_af.html#incart_river_home

pescadero

January 29th, 2016 at 1:50 PM ^

The kid should be held appropriately accountable - whether that be suspension, detention, expulsion, or whatever.

 

...that doesn't mean anything an authority figure does to enforce accountability is acceptable.

 

Cops want to give someone a ticket for jaywalking? Cool. Cop wants to punch someone in the face for jaywalking? Not an appropriate level of accountability. The punishment has to fit the crime.

 

 

straight-gangs…

January 29th, 2016 at 2:26 PM ^

You have to be kidding me. Drawing that parralel disqualifies you from being considered level heading from hear on out in this conversation.

If a kid at school is disrupting class, refusing to follow teacher orders and or otherwise being as ass, they deserve to get thrown (literally) out of the class. Your position is exactly what's empowering this current generation of kids to feel entitled. Entitled to do, get and behave however they want and in the end, if it doesn't work out, point the finger at somebody else.

If either of my kids act like a fool this way in school, I hope they get there ass kicked by a teacher.....

pescadero

January 29th, 2016 at 2:37 PM ^

If a kid at school is disrupting class, refusing to follow teacher orders and or otherwise being as ass, they deserve to get thrown (literally) out of the class.

 

The law strenuoulsy disagrees absent a self defense claim.

 

Law enforcement has a monopoly on legal force in this country.

straight-gangs…

January 29th, 2016 at 2:42 PM ^

I'm hoping because it seems as if this kid was swinging away, tossing him to the ground is self defense.....

I'm not disagreeing with your law enforcement position, just the overriding theme of the lack of respect and entitlement mentality that seems to good along with these kids. Everyone seems to be the victim and everyone of them feel it's their duty/right to act like fools in these situations.

straight-gangs…

January 30th, 2016 at 1:16 AM ^

Yourself and the clown above you assume because of a user name, that you know everything. Whether my username is gangster, or lollipops, the same thing applies. If you're an ass and act like a fool, you deserve what's coming to you.

Your type like to lean on the socioeconomic crutch, like its your job, when in reality, it shouldn't play a role. I don't care if you're Trump, or pinching pennies. If you are respectful and don't act like a fool, you're good by me.

DB33

January 29th, 2016 at 4:54 PM ^

Proof is in the pudding.  Wyoming Public Schools did nothing when it happened.  They didnt take any action until the next day after watching the video when they fired him for using "excessive force".  That was in the original article that was posted before being updated.  This school is right in my neighborhood though I choose to send my daughter to another one in the area.  I have a lot of friends that are backing him that are linked to this school district cause he was a great role model.  Riley has always had violent occurences.  Years ago after his stint in the NFL he would frequent the Grand Rapids night clubs and I witnessed and heard about multiple occasions where he would lay someone much smaller than him out just cause of a look or someone would bump into him and spill his drink.  It came to a point where he was not allowed in a lot of the local establishments.  If he just tossed the kid to the ground to calm him down, no way would that cause bruising on his back like the medical records are showing according to Wood TV.  No one will really know what happened for sure until the video comes out but I would not want a school official to ever handle my child like that. 

Reader71

January 29th, 2016 at 2:29 PM ^

Tim, I usually like your style. But Rueben is a big, strong motherfucker. He probably shouldn't be beating up on any kids. The kid isn't going to hurt him, whereas Rueben could probably kill him.

Great power, great responsibility, that kinda thing.

Reader71

January 29th, 2016 at 3:55 PM ^

Yeah, poor choice of words. The point remains, he shouldn't get too physical with kids.

And I'm about as big of a Rueben Riley fan as there is. Great, great guy. I personally have a hard time believing he did anything wrong, because I know him. But everyone makes mistakes, and I think that's what this is.

03 Blue 07

January 29th, 2016 at 4:23 PM ^

Doesn't Reilly have-- as all people in America do-- a right to self-defense (he does)? And, if Wyoming is like every other state, he has a right to defend himself proportionally to the threat being inflicted. If someone is punching you in the face, you have every right to defend yourself within reason. You do not merely have to run away. No one has a right to committ battery (or assault and battery) on another person, but everyone does have the right to protect themselves from such battery (or assault and battery), up to and including battery committed in proportional self-defense. 

HOWEVA, at this school, their policies control, and if their policy is essentially "don't fight back if attacked by a student, no matter what" and Riley violated that policy, while the result is (in my view) potentially unjust in a broader sense, I don't know that it's inapppropriate (or at all illegal) to fire him for the offense. . .It certainly sucks, and seems unfair, but the context matters. If this happens on the street? No problem. Seems an open-and-shut case of self-defense. But it didn't take place in public, and it looks like Riley will have to take the consequences imposed by his employer.  

jmdblue

January 29th, 2016 at 2:20 PM ^

showing misbehaving teens being manhandled by adults.  I know from wrestling with my 11 yr old boy that safely restraining a strong kid can be a challenge even when it's just for fun.  I think many of these videos, especially when shown in slow motion, don't capture the difficulty the authority figure is put in. 

I don't know whether this is the case here or not.