A high school football coach in Connecticut is apologizing after an on-field punishment that left some of his players with blisters and burns earlier this week.
Parents cried foul after Stratford High School coach T.J. Cavaliere told his team to crawl on the artificial turf with their bear hands at the school's football field Monday. The drill, on a day where temperatures raced past the 90 degrees amid baking sun, caused some of the players to burn their hands on the heated turf.
“It wasn’t just a hot field. These kids, their skin melted off their hands,” said Stratford Town Council candidate Sean Haubert.
Cavaliere wrote a letter to parents explaining that the exercise was in response to players’ behavioral issues at Friday’s scrimmage.
“Hindsight is 20/20 and I was not aware that the turf could cause blisters on the boys’ hands,” the coach wrote. “I apologize for what happened and have learned a valuable lesson.
Some, like Haubert, believe the incident warrants extra training and even suspension.
“These kids were getting hurt and they’re trained not to say something back to the coach, so I’ll say it,” he said.
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Some players' parents say the coach’s apology is enough.
“He’s a compassionate man. He’s supportive. He makes this team a team,” said Theresa Jacksis-Bonazzo, who has two sons on the football team.
Cavaliere, who did not attend practice Wednesday afternoon, apologized on Twitter too. His account has since been made private.
Neither Cavaliere nor the Stratford superintendent have returned requests for comment by NBC Connecticut.
