I hate people. I may have said this before, but it still rings true. Not all people, of course. Just some. The people who tell you that you should not hate anyone and that all people are worthy of respect must not have ever known or read about anyone like Elizabeth Lloyd. A couple of years ago, Lloyd was at a Little League baseball game, sitting near the bullpen where a pitcher was warming up. An errant throw by eleven-year-old Matthew Magliaccio, the catcher, struck Lloyd in the face. She suffered injuries as a result. That’s certainly a shame, but what has followed is what has Ms. Lloyd on my list of revolting people. She is suing this kid [1]. That’s right, she filed a lawsuit against Magliaccio, now thirteen, asking for $153,000 in damages to pay for her supposed medical costs, and is also asking for additional money for her pain and suffering.
I know nothing about Lloyd’s actual injuries, or why she didn’t have insurance that would have kept her from owing over $150,000. I do know that the accounts of the incident indicate that there was nothing intentional about the kid’s throw. He was eleven. If you are sitting anywhere near an area where a child’s throw could nail you in the face, I feel that you are responsible for whatever happens to you. My guess is that she was not only sitting in an exposed spot, but she also must not have been paying much attention to what was happening. This ball was thrown by a child, not a professional athlete. Not only would he not have the control of an adult, he also would not be able to throw the ball all that hard. I am not saying Lloyd was not injured or that I don’t feel bad for what happened to her. I am definitely saying, however, that she should be ashamed of herself. Her lawsuit includes an additional claim filed by her husband, claiming the loss of “services, society and consortium” of his wife. That’s right…they are suing a child for money to account for the impact of this incident on their sex life. I hope the judge tosses out the lawsuit immediately and throws both of these idiots in jail. Short of that, I hope there is some kind of punishment for the frivolous and nasty nature of this suit.
To make the whole thing that much worse, Little League Baseball has declined to provide any assistance or protection to the Magliaccio family. Supposedly, the league’s insurance does not cover spectators. They are going to leave this kid and his family hung out to dry, which is simply awful. The family’s insurance only covers some of the lawsuit’s charges, so the Lloyds are basically trying to destroy this family with this suit. As Grantaire said in Les Miserables, “I am agog, I am aghast.” No matter how many time I see how horrible some people are, I continue to be amazed at just how disgusting someone can be, particularly with the advice of a lawyer.
Bad sports, continued:
2) I have covered this story numerous times, but I can’t put this column out today without mentioning that Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State defensive coordinator who was on trial for sexually abusing numerous young boys over a lot of years, was convicted on 45 of the 48 counts on Saturday night. I guess I could have put this under Good Sports, as I am very pleased by this result, but ultimately, there is nothing good about any of this story. I expect he will be in prison for the rest of his life, and I hope every day of that time is worse than the last.
3) Philadelphia Phillies rookie second baseman Freddy Galvis was suspended for 50 games [2] on Tuesday after failing a test for performance enhancing drugs. He claims to not know how the banned substance got into his body. I haven’t heard that one before.
4) Cleveland Browns linebacker Scott Fujita is one of the players who faces a suspension due to the NFL’s probe of the New Orleans Saints’ bounty program from the time that Fujita played for New Orleans. He is claiming that the suspension is part of a personal smear campaign [3] aimed at him for his actions as a leader of the players’ union. I think someone has an outsized impression of his own importance.
5) Clay Buccholz, a talented young pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, has been hospitalized due to internal bleeding [4]. Scary.
6) Tony Parker, point guard for the San Antonio Spurs, is likely to miss the upcoming Summer Olympics after being cut in the eye [5] during last week’s ridiculous dust-up between Drake and Chris Brown, two hip-hop stars who were apparently fighting over singer Rihanna. It sounds like the injury is quite serious.
Good sports:
1) R.A. Dickey is such an odd story. He is a 37-year-old pitcher for the New York Mets, and he has never been all that great. Coming into the season, the knuckle-baller had a 41-50 career record, with an ERA well over 4.00. This season, he is 11-1 with a 2.00 ERA. On Monday, he pitched his second consecutive one-hitter [6].
2) The awkwardly named Ashton Eaton was anything but awkward on Saturday, setting a world record in the decathlon [7] during the U.S Olympic trials in Oregon. He beat the previous record, held by Roman Sebrle since 2001, by 13 points.
3) Earlier in the season, Jim Thome looked washed up. The 41-year-old was having a miserable season, going 2-20 in a pinch-hitting role during the first couple of months of his second go-round with the Philadelphia Phillies. He recently had the opportunity to play more regularly as the designated hitter during a bunch of interleague games, and he performed amazingly. On Saturday, despite the fact that he was again pinch-hitting, Thome hit a homerun in the bottom of the ninth [8] to beat the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the 609th homerun of his storied career.
Bad sports, good sports appears every Monday
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[11]Alan Spoll [12]
[11]Latest posts by Alan Spoll (Posts [13])
- Pereira comments on “Philly Special” a total waste of time [14] - February 14, 2018
- BSGS News Brief: Tom Brady beats the NFL [15] - September 3, 2015
- BSGS News Brief: Geno Smith gets his jaw broken by a punch [16] - August 16, 2015
- BSGS News Brief – Oh, Vanderbilt. Really? [17] - August 6, 2015
- BSGS News Brief – Sheldon Richardson hits the Bad Sports wire in a big way [18] - July 31, 2015