Posted by Faith Restored, a resident of the Menlo Park: Menlo Oaks neighborhood, on Feb 13, 2012 at 12:22 pm

This ruling restores my faith in a judicial system in which one parent's hissy fit can hold an entire school district hostage. After school activities are not about winning or losing but about cooperation and good sportsmanship and being inclusive. Coaching young kids is not for everyone -- it takes patience, kindness and a sense of humor. If one kid is disruptive there are ways to deal with it other than throwing a basketball at his head. Sorry if Mr. Hecimovich wasn't invited back but if he hadn't have been a lawyer he never would have carried this so far past reason.

Posted by Finally, a resident of the Menlo Park: other neighborhood, on Feb 13, 2012 at 2:55 pm

It's been a long road in this classic example of a huge "disproportionate response". But Mr. Hecimovich made his legal "bed", now he must lie in it.

Posted by pv rez, a resident of the Portola Valley: Central Portola Valley neighborhood, on Feb 13, 2012 at 3:25 pm

reading that hecimovich will have to pay the costs and fees for the other side is a pure joy.

Posted by More Concerned Than Relieved, a resident of the Atherton: other neighborhood, on Feb 14, 2012 at 9:05 pm

I googled this and was surprised (based on the previous posts) to learn that Hecimovich was the one (with his assistant coaches) standing up for student safety, while the PTO folks apparently refused to deal with and then concealed the issue which, per the court, was a dangerously out of control kid. How does a coach’s complaint about a kid trying to break overhead lights in a crowded gym get translated, by PTO administrators, to a complaint that the kid lacks basketball skills? Isn’t that what happened at Penn State - if the complaint isn’t serious, you can ignore it? From what I could tell, the only complaints about the coaches came a year later, and were debunked by an outside investigator, who described the complaining parent as a friend of the PTO and entirely unethical. I don’t know how this ended up as a lawsuit, and I’m sure Hecimovich regrets it, but the fact that the court found that the coaches’ complaint raised a serious safety concern makes me think PTO should have handled this differently. How can I be sure that my kids will be safe in the Encinal league? Are those PTO administrators still running the show?

Posted by Fearful, a resident of the Menlo Park: The Willows neighborhood, on Feb 14, 2012 at 10:34 pm

[Post removed re terms of use: Poster using more than one name.]