Milestone 4
William Tanda
Southern New Hampshire University
Final Project
Initial Topic Proposal
My topic proposal for this project would involve negligence more specifically, what
duty do coaches owe to athletes to prevent injuries?
Research Questions and References
Throughout this course we have covered various topics within the realm of Sport Law.
Covering topics such as Constitutional Protections within sports, Contract Law, learning the
difference between “sports law” and “sports and the law”, to Legal Entities within sport, this
course has given me everything I need to be well versed in Sport Law. One topic that we
covered, that I chose to be the basis of my final project topic, is Negligence. Negligence,
according to LII Staff (2017) is “A failure to behave with the level of care that someone of
ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances. The behavior usually
consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions when there is some duty to act (e.g., a duty
to help victims of one's previous conduct).
Research Summary
I chose negligence because it is an issue that is prevalent within high school and
collegiate athletics. It is also prevalent in recreational sports, which we’ve seen through case
briefs we were assigned this term. In module 2, we reviewed and brief the case of Allen v.
Dover Co-recreational Softball League, 148 N.H. 407 (2002). This case was about an individual
who was hit in the head by a softball and cited that the individual responsible acted negligently
when throwing a softball during warmups without any indication. Although my topic is
This study source was downloaded by 100000780153789 from CourseHero.com on 04-01-2023 17:41:56 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/49701042/10-3-Final-Project-Submission-Final-Paperdocx/
somewhat centered around hazing, this case is relevant because often times individuals know the
rules of leagues or clubs, but do not always follow them to the letter. We’ve all been guilty of
bending the rules here and there, but when it results in the injury of someone else, it then
becomes a problem. We covered a similar case in module 1, Savino v. Robertson, 652 N.E. 2d
1240 811 (Ill. App. Ct. 1995). The plaintiff in this case was hit in the eye with a hockey puck
which resulted in an injury. This case differs from the case module 2 because this incident that
resulted in an injury happened while both individuals were engaging in activity while being
within the rules of their league. Although the defendant acted negligently, both parties were
within the rules of the league so the court ruled with the defendant. The case that really relates to
my topic, and a source I will use to drive home my point with my final project, is the case brief
from module 5, Seamons v. Snow, 864 F.supp.111 (1994). In this case, the plaintiff was
assaulted by several of his teammates in the locker room.
The plaintiff and his parents reported the incident to the police and school authorities,
including the principle and the head coach of the team and defendant in this case. The defendant
took no action the teammates who committed the act and instead required the plaintiff to
apologize to the captains of the team for “betraying” them and the team. The plaintiff wanted to
remain on the team but did not want to apologize, and this resulted in the plaintiff being kicked
off the team. The remainder of the season was cancelled the following day. This case really
relates to my topic because this case was a result of hazing. The plaintiff was jumped by some of
his teammates and held down while his clothes were stripped off. His teammates allowed his ex-
girlfriend to come in and see wat was happening to the plaintiff and to get a laugh. The fact that
the plaintiff reported this incident to both his coach and the principal, and nothing came from it
except for his coach making him apologize to the team for snitching is inexcusable.
This study source was downloaded by 100000780153789 from CourseHero.com on 04-01-2023 17:41:56 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/49701042/10-3-Final-Project-Submission-Final-Paperdocx/
end up suffering further injury and making the injury worse than what it already was.
For my final project I will be using the cases Seamons v. Snow, Allen v. Dover Co-
Recreational Softball League, and Home v. North Kitsap School District 2 as some of my
references for my paper. The reason for using these specific cases is because they all deal with
players and negligence involving coaches and the team they play for. Seamons v. Snow involves
hazing in the locker room, which is a common thing especially at the high school level and the
responsibility that the coaches have to avoid being negligent to things like this that happen.
Allen v. Dover Co-Recreational Softball League involves a player being injured after being
struck by a softball and the plaintiff suing the recreational softball league. While this doesn’t
involve a coach being at fault sometimes high school athletes may blame certain injuries on
coaches even though those injuries may just be a result of participating in that specific sport. In
addition to this the inclusion of waivers will be another topic in class that I will include because
there are certain things that a coach may not be held liable for if it was included in the waiver
that the athlete and his or her parents agreed to sign.
Synthesis of Course Content
Negligence is the link between my topics. The question I have involving negligence is,
what do the coaches owe to athletes to help them prevent injuries. In all 3 modules, two, three,
and four the topics regarding negligence were covered. For this project, module four is the
module that closely relates to my topic, regarding that it deals with injuries that were sustained
by athletes due to the negligence. Regarding the case of Home v. North Kitsap School District,
this was a case that was covered in class but also relates to my topic in regards to the North
Kitsap School District. In my opinion, the athlete who is dealing with the injury feels that the
injury was caused due to the coach’s negligence. In module two it talks about the things that the
This study source was downloaded by 100000780153789 from CourseHero.com on 04-01-2023 17:41:56 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/49701042/10-3-Final-Project-Submission-Final-Paperdocx/
plaintiff must establish in order to claim negligence. This connects to my topic in that my
questions states what duty do coaches owe to their athletes to prevent injuries. In order to figure
out what duty coaches owe their athletes it is important to know the things that must be proven to
claim negligence. Module four also discusses defenses against negligence, which is important
for my topic since it is important to know what resources the defendant has in protecting himself
or herself from a negligence accusation.
This study source was downloaded by 100000780153789 from CourseHero.com on 04-01-2023 17:41:56 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/49701042/10-3-Final-Project-Submission-Final-Paperdocx/
References
Kroshus, E., Garnett, B., Hawrilenko, M., Baugh, C. M., & Calzo, J. P. (2015). Concussion
under-reporting and pressure from coaches, teammates, fans, and parents. Social science
& medicine (1982), 134, 66–75. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.04.011
Miller, J. R. (2018, March 6). Football coach urged 'sissy' players to play hurt: suit. Retrieved
from https://nypost.com/2018/03/06/football-coach-called-players-sissies-urged-them-to-
play-hurt-lawsuit/
Murray, E. (2014, November 8). Teens playing through pain, not taking sports injuries seriously.
Retrieved from https://www.today.com/health/teens-playing-through-pain-not-taking-
sports-injuries-seriously-says-1D80274256
HOME v. NORTH KITSAP SCHOOL DISTRICT (Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2
December 2, 1998).
ALLEN v. DOVER CO RECREATIONAL SOFTBALL LEAGUE (July 26, 2002).
Seamons v. Snow (U.S. District Court for the District of Utah September 9, 1998)
LII Staff. (2017, June 06). Negligence. Retrieved from
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/negligence
Savino v. Robertson, 652 N.E. 2d 1240 811 (Ill. App. Ct. 1995)
This study source was downloaded by 100000780153789 from CourseHero.com on 04-01-2023 17:41:56 GMT -05:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/49701042/10-3-Final-Project-Submission-Final-Paperdocx/ Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)