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Parents sue school over Dodgeball game


BiffSplitkins

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DeWitt, NY - A game of dodgeball could cost the Jamesville-DeWitt school district tens of thousands of dollars.

The parents of J-D student Yong Seong Cho claim their son's nose is deformed from a dodgeball injury during gym class Jan. 10, 2013, when he was in fifth grade. Cho suffered a blow to his face and had to be treated for a broken nose, which could not be straightened.

J-D administrators said they could not comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuit captures the national debate over whether dodgeball is an appropriate game for kids. Is it an innocent schoolyard pastime that spawned a successful 2004 comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller? Or is it a dangerous activity with little athletic value that promotes bullying against the weakest students?

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Dodge ball builds character. If your a wuss it builds you into a twitchy nervous cry-baby and if your a bully it teaches you the value of hurting people while not breaking the rules. Many police were very accomplished dodgeballers in thier youth.

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There also should be no winners or losers in this game. Ribbons for everybody!

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I don't see this as any different than football, baseball, gymnastics, they could leave you with serious injuries also. Besides it was another kids head that caused his injuries not a ball.

I always liked dodge ball.

Edited by Ashotep
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If you can dodge a wrench you can dodge a ball!!!!

dodgeball-o.gif

The sad part is that it wasn't even a ball that deformed the kids nose. It was a special needs autistic student that freaked out and ran headfirst into his face.

Edited by BiffSplitkins
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Dodgeball should not be allowed in schools. Kids will try to hit kids they don't like and I'm sure the unpopular kids get sick to the stomach at the thought of playing this game.

This is detrimental to one's self-esteem, especially at such a young age where it is still developing.

I know that bullying happens everywhere but there is no reason to make more opportunities for it.

Ever wonder why the special needs kid ran into the victim? He probably knew he was an easy target and was trying to run from being hit.

No, it should not be allowed unless offered as an elective where students can choose to do it.

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Regardless of what happened in this particular case, every sport has rules, it has nothing to do with being "wussy" or weak and no school game should be causing broken bones.

Maiming others does not build "character" anymore than if you were shooting bullets or throwing rocks at them.

Kicking a ball can be done in a way that it still gets to the other side without busting someones face...if they can do it in hockey then they can do it with dodge-ball.

And yes, I am full well aware (thank you very much) the kid was injured by another who was trying to avoid being hit..an obvious case of a room being too crowded and too much mayhem at one time.

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They could at least implement a rule of no throwing the ball at someone's face.

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Dodgeball should not be allowed in schools. Kids will try to hit kids they don't like and I'm sure the unpopular kids get sick to the stomach at the thought of playing this game.

This is detrimental to one's self-esteem, especially at such a young age where it is still developing.

I know that bullying happens everywhere but there is no reason to make more opportunities for it.

Ever wonder why the special needs kid ran into the victim? He probably knew he was an easy target and was trying to run from being hit.

No, it should not be allowed unless offered as an elective where students can choose to do it.

I disagree. When I was a kid I caught 2 balls at once many times and both took and gave my fair share of licks and ;looked forward to playing this game. This game can be rough and if people don't want to play it, should not be forced to play. But if one kid wants to hurt another based on popularity like you're saying they can do that during any game. Basketball comes to mind.
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Dodge was never really a sport taught at school in Australia. It was always more of a time filler at the end of the class or something. Awesome fun though.

But we would play it different. There would be a square marked out with all the students except one or two inside the square. The students outside the square had the ball(s) and had to throw it at the students inside the square. Every time a student was hit they would leave the square and now become one of the throwers outside the square. Eventually it would get down to two people running and jumping all over the place to avoid all these balls coming at them from every side.

Dodgeball should not be allowed in schools. Kids will try to hit kids they don't like and I'm sure the unpopular kids get sick to the stomach at the thought of playing this game.

Wouldn't the same apply to other sports? Bullies will tackle the smaller kids or never pass the ball to them.

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Dodgeball is more vicious than other games as you are actively trying to hit someone with the ball. I don't really see any other games where this applies. Now of course kids will break the rules in other sports sometimes and get physically aggressive but dodgeball makes it a lot easier than other sports.

Bullying can happen in anything but this is one of those games that when I hear I associate it with bullying.

It's true that not passing balls to other kids and not picking kids for teams is bullying but I feel like that's more passive aggressive than the straight up aggressiveness that is dodgeball. Then again, I suppose in some cases passive aggressiveness can be worse.

My issue with dodgeball is more of the opportunity it creates for bullies and their victims. It should only be offered electively.

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They could at least implement a rule of no throwing the ball at someone's face.

There normally are rules about throwing the ball at someones face, it just depends on whether or not the rule is enforced. I remember playing dodge ball in school and almost everyone loved it. But it's a game just like any other and kids do get rough and some times someone gets hurt whether it was intended or not. Plus schools don't have to use rubber balls for the game, at one point the school that I attended ordered softer balls that were filled with stuffing and could be thrown just as well with a less painful impact.

Edited by Zirna
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So it looks like the girls and the wimps are against dodge ball and the people who actually played it are for dogeball.

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We use special balls for Dodgeball when I run it as a "end of PE lesson game". They're about as dangerous as a butterfly, they're all air and soft rubber that even I as an adult can't throw properly because of it's size and how it deforms when you grab it.

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So it looks like the girls and the wimps are against dodge ball and the people who actually played it are for dogeball.

Not this one...I loved dodge ball and we didn't have any special balls for it. We used the same ones that were used in soccer. The guys and girls were on teams together and it could really sting at times. I only saw one guy who viciously went after someone and he got thrown out of the game after the second time.

Accidents happen and I can't even count how many times I got hurt because I was a big (figuratively) tomboy. I didn't look like one and it always shocked the guys when I could give as good as I got. hehehe

Edited by Michelle
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Surely every sport has an element of risk attached to it ...my sons played rugby from the first year of high school and quite often came home with fat lips, black eyes and cauliflower ears but you didn't see me rushing make a claim against the school!

This young man was involved in an accident ...they happen. His injury IS treatable and the surgeons were correct to advise holding off on corrective surgery until he older as his nose will continue to grow and change shape, if they operate while his nose is still growing the need further surgery in future is highly likely.

The lads parent's are clearly looking to make a few $$$ by suing the school - why aren't they suing the other child's parents? Because they won't get as much cash for a civil case?

Edited by amaterasu
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I myself think that dodgeball is an acceptable game for gym class when its supervised....like any other game. Its not the kids fault....accidents happen. I swear some people will sue for anything and everything these days.

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I remember playing dodge ball just with other girls tho. This one girl had a mean throw and I was the only one who could catch her throws, so I'd always end up with the last few punks/nerds standing. I had fun p***ing off the preppy cheerleader just by catching her hard throws.

Anyway, I'd sue for my medical bills for sure because I don't have that much money laying around to pay for nose surgery caused by a dodge ball game that frightened an autistic child because the gym teacher didn't provide him a way out of the game.

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So it looks like the girls and the wimps are against dodge ball and the people who actually played it are for dogeball.

Hey now, I never said I haven't played it. I loved dodgeball and was quite skilled at it actually. I am gonna stick to my opinion though that it is a good opportunity for bullying and should only be an elective. :)

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Like anything from P.E., if you don't suck at it, it's fun. I suppose parents like this will want any activity with an inflated ball banned next? Or maybe anything that promotes playing better than others to achieve victory?

I know all the special needs kids were kept separate from everyone else in my school. They were banished to the outskirts of the "old" buildings(near the farm area for the animal science/FFA kids) with the teenage mothers.

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They outlawed dodge ball back when I was in junior high in my area, which was quite a long time ago.

I'm a girl, and probably a wimp too. No one particular targeted me in dodgeball games. We just found a way to get out of it quickly and then stood around chatting or whatever.

I'd personally rather have gym class teach kids something that takes more thoughtful skill.

"Throw balls at the other guy" is a rather dumb, brutish game. Football, soccer, weight training, tennis, baseball... Why not do real sports and learn about fitness techniques that may actually get done long term after school too?

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With the way schools are becoming, I struggle to see the next generation being able to make it through life without someone constantly holding their hands.

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so, as some other people have mentioned, the problem wasn't the game itself. the problem was that there was (according to the article) very little control from whoever was supervising, and no alternative for people who didn't want to participate.

I know all the special needs kids were kept separate from everyone else in my school. They were banished to the outskirts of the "old" buildings(near the farm area for the animal science/FFA kids) with the teenage mothers.

how wonderful that must have been for you.

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"But remember, dodgeball is a sport of violence, exclusion and degradation. So, when you're picking players in Gym class, remember to pick the bigger, stronger kids for your team. That way you can all gang up on the weaker ones." Love that movie!

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The lads parent's are clearly looking to make a few $$$ by suing the school - why aren't they suing the other child's parents? Because they won't get as much cash for a civil case?

Maybe they are struggling with the medical bills. Not every country has free health care, like ours. Must be grim if your child needs treatment and you're skint. :(

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