Worse case of politics in softball you have seen?

[jonriv]

We always talk about how we hate politics in softball, what was the worse you have seen?

Here is my example:

When my daughter made the HS team. Coach was a former HS Athlete star at the HS. Had a daughter on the team, wife was the AD's secretary. Coach said no one hits homers and no one from this program goes on to play in College. Was coach for 8 years never having a winning record. Took three years to get him out. His final year, one of the co-captains(senior). Daughter of a friend of the coach. Showed up at a team dinner reading of pot and high as a kite. Was reported to the AD by several parents(I was not there) Player suspended by AD, but reinstated(no longer as a captain) after Lawyer father threatened lawsuit and blamed the other co-captains(two juniors- my daughter and friend who both went on to play in college) of being "out to get" his daughter. Coach, instead of benching the pothead, put her in. She wound up making a KEY error that led to two runs that led to a loss to archival school in the first playoff game the team had in over a decade- coach was gone after that summer.

The following year the team went the deepest(to this day) in the state playoffs in school history

[Pale Rider]

[jonriv]

A Coda to the story. The following year the Father(the lawyer) was arrested as a John in a prostitution ring sting at a nearby hospital.

Karma is a bitch

[Sue Trubovitz, Turbo]

maybe not the worst story but still politics

in the early 80s 18u,
the strongest team in the nation at Nationals the coaches brought out headset walkie talkies to their first and third base coaching boxes.
( hi coach ---- ------)
immediately, after the first pitch is thrown, the opposing team coach notices the headsets & calls timeout.
conference with ummpires...
"They cant wear those" coach says to the blue.
now the umpires are talking.
one leaves the field to go get another umpire. here comes a couple more umpires. then finally the two oldest umpires arrive and there are seven umpires on the field discussing whether or not coaches can wear headset walkie talkies on the field...
finally the coach who's wearing the headset speaks up and says loudly "we don't have to wear these, you already know i can yell across the field if you want me to" pauses and says
"don't want anyone to feel we are put at an advantage so we will win without these"
and they took off the headsets and game continued something like 30 minutes later!
The Team won nationals again!
And did so with a very loud coach!

Now with 12 nationals titles, another decade and another decade and yet still another decade of coaching....
With over 130 all americans whom he coached, another 9
Olympic players, so many D1 athletes from his teams cant count them all...his personality
known across the nation....
luv him or hate him....
Is still coaching with the
SAME TEAM NAME that he started in 1975 !!!
what a great contribution to softball this person has made!

Trivia question:
Who is this coach ---- ------

[ExplosionSBCoach]

Phil Bruder