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Settlement Scored In Little League Base-Sliding Lawsuit


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A 2004 Little League game-gone-wrong has earned a Staten Island family a $125,000 settlement, according to the Staten Island Advance. The lawsuit, filed by mother Jean Gonzalez, alleged that the New Springville Little League and its parent company, Little League Baseball Incorporated, were negligent in instructing her son Martin Gonzalez about proper sliding techniques before a May 2004 game, when her son was instructed by his coach to slide into second base. The slide ended in ligament and meniscus tearing (that's a knee injury in doctor-speak) for Martin, who was 12 at the time and has had two surgeries to repair the damage in the five years since. Some lawyers on the sidelines have suggested this was a weak case, given that anyone who plays sports usually assumes there's always some possibility of getting hurt, but as the Gonzalez's lawyer Alan Glassman points out, "Apparently, the Little League International and the local Little League must have felt that I had some justification for the commencement of the action." Now, if only Glassman can explain why the lawsuit was filed some three years after the injury, the statute of limitations equivalent of the bottom of the ninth.

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Comments [rss]

  • Bizzle

    God I hate parents. Either overly competitive or overly protective. Either way the kids lose.

    Yes, I was perfect at birth. I came out and told my mother what she was doing wrong.

  • our society is pathetic.

  • Yonni22

    Isn't the statute of limitations for a minor 3 years after their 18th birthday? He had plenty of time to file a lawsuit.

  • Thespis

    It was probably going to cost more than $125,000 to try the case.

    You couldn't pay me enough to coach sports these days. With overly-litigious helicopter parents suing if little Timmy doesn't get enough playing time, or doesn't learn how to slide correctly, or gets stuck in right field... it's seriously not worth it.

    Let the little jerks learn baseball from their PlayStations.

  • ANGRYGOD11

    Don't forget having your life ruined if anyone says they thought you inappropriately touched the kids. Someone is eventually sue an adult for high-fiving their little angel after a home run.

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