11/21/24
May 11, 2007
Severe Rugby Injury in Scholastic Game Lands Player in Jail: The family of 15-year-old rugby player Manny Castillo, who is not expected to live after being injured during a match, are fighting to save another life -- the player on the other team involved in the scrum. He's in jail facing aggravated assault charges that may be upgraded upon Castillo's death. "We support the police investigation but we do not condone the fact that this kid is charged with assault or that he is in custody," Castillo's uncle Hector said.
...charges and custody do seem a bit premature I agree, Dr. John. When NHL players who deliberately seek to injure an opponent by employing what can be seen as a deadly weapon are not even detained, it does seem to be an extreme reaction. I applaud the victim's family for taking the high road and not wanting to ruin the life of the other player. They are far more gracious than I think I could ever be under similar circumstances. My prayers are with all involved.
posted by Howard_T at 10:41 AM on May 11, 2007
Manny has since died. . You just have to feel for that poor family, and of course for the other player. Whatever the circumstances I doubt that death was an intended result. Sounds like a terrible accident, but I suppose the police have to be certain, however I agree that laying charges and taking the teenager into custody is premature.
posted by Fence at 11:10 AM on May 11, 2007
. Charges are way premature. They're overreacting just because Manny was seriouly injured, if he just got bruised up the incedent would be history now. Glad the uncle isn't agreeing with the charges, hope the rest of the family feels that way too. My thoughts and prayers with both famillies.
posted by TelamarketersBeware at 12:12 PM on May 11, 2007
“It’s a common misconception that the victims of crime lay charges. Police lay charges and at this point the Peel Region police have no intention of withdrawing the charges,” Its a common misconception by the police that they are autonomous and do not work for the public. I applaud the family for not wanting to press charges and destroy another family. they will be in my prayers.
posted by Steel_Town at 01:02 PM on May 11, 2007
How can all of you be so sure that the charges are incorrect? You have no idea what the other kid did to him. What if he threw him on the ground and stomped on his head? Or pulled him down and knee'd him in the head? The police obviously feel that the incident was "...away from normal game play" and that "There was an altercation that was not a part of the game." Maybe the parents didn't see what exactly happened. I'm sure there's a video somewhere out there and we will have to wait to hear/see exactly what the circumstances were. In any case, this is a tradgedy. I doubt that Manny ever thought that this game would be his last or that this day would be his last.
posted by yay-yo at 01:09 PM on May 11, 2007
yay-yo, in my comment above, I quoted extensively from the article to establish quite clearly that we don't have a great idea of what happened. Yes, the altercation was away from the play, but according to the witness, the two were locked up and the player just "fell kind of awkwardly". What if he threw him on the ground and stomped on his head? Or pulled him down and knee'd him in the head? This is jumping to conclusions in a TERRIBLE way, man. If this was the case, I think the witnesses would've noticed it, and it would be in the article. Of course, maybe Canadians approach it as "guilty until proven innocent", in which case you'd be absolutely right-- throw the kid in jail until we can establish that he DIDN'T stomp on the victim's head.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 01:21 PM on May 11, 2007
This is jumping to conclusions in a TERRIBLE way, man. It would be if I didn't say "what if". But assuming that the charges are wrong is jumping to a conclusion. You obviously read the article and saw that the police are not considering dropping the charges. There must be a reason. As I stated before, I am sure that there's a video and the police are probably looking at it as we speak. Also, "falling awkwardly" dose not cause severe head trauma, unless you "fall awkwardly" off of a building. RIP Manny...
posted by yay-yo at 01:33 PM on May 11, 2007
It would be if I didn't say "what if". No, that's not a solid defense. What if you stopped beating your wife today? Couching an argument as a question is a weak rhetorical device anyway.
posted by yerfatma at 01:34 PM on May 11, 2007
I would think a video would have been mentioned in the article.
posted by Steel_Town at 01:40 PM on May 11, 2007
What if you stopped beating your wife today? I don't think I see your point. I was just trying to present the other side of the argument. That's all. There's not enough evidence to take a solid stance on either side of this, and that was the point I was trying to make.
posted by yay-yo at 01:50 PM on May 11, 2007
yay-yo, I think the point is that if something highly unusual happens (like throwing someone to the ground and stomping on their head), people remark on it. Therefore, while absence of statements doesn't absolutely prove that things didn't happen, it can be taken as a pretty good indicator that certain types of actions are unlikely to have happened.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 02:30 PM on May 11, 2007
.
posted by BornIcon at 02:35 PM on May 11, 2007
Family members of the injured-now-deceased refuse to allow this event to ruin the other kid's life. The students at the school refuse to give reports or speculation on the event to the media out of courtesy to the victim's family. What is in the water in Mississauga that makes people behave so thoughtfully and rationally in the wake of such a shocking tragedy? Because we really should think about importing it.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 02:45 PM on May 11, 2007
The teen involved in the incident has been released to his parents.
posted by rcade at 02:46 PM on May 11, 2007
What a tragedy. My prayers are with the families. Rugby is a very rough sport having played in college and been a captian for 3 years I feel qualified to say rather bad injuries are not uncommon even when on the up and up. High school sports are no joke now-a-days. Mix in inexperience & testosterone the risks are even higher. I whole heartedly endorse rugby and football in school, but it just goes to show that we must be accountable to oneanother and our kids by being acutely aware of what is happening on the fiels and teaching proper technique. I applaude the families and the community on how they have conducted themselves thus far.
posted by PolarJosh at 03:57 PM on May 11, 2007
"Family members of the injured-now-deceased refuse to allow this event to ruin the other kid's life. The students at the school refuse to give reports or speculation on the event to the media out of courtesy to the victim's family. What is in the water in Mississauga that makes people behave so thoughtfully and rationally in the wake of such a shocking tragedy? Because we really should think about importing it." Obviously, they have the belief that their government will eventually do what's right. Sadly, this is no longer the case for most of the U.S.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 05:24 PM on May 11, 2007
Obviously, they have the belief that their government will eventually do what's right. Sadly, this is no longer the case for most of the U.S. It has nothing to do with government, it may have more to do with the belief that our police will eventually do what's right.
posted by tommybiden at 05:53 PM on May 11, 2007
My heart breaks for this family. It speaks very highly of them, not wanting the police to press charges against the other player.
posted by steelergirl at 06:18 PM on May 11, 2007
New details from the incident, including quotes from a player's mother, unnamed, who said Castillo was thrown down after the whistle following a scrum.
posted by rcade at 08:52 AM on May 12, 2007
It's tough to tell exactly what happened in the "altercation":
Nonetheless, despite the ambiguity surrounding the details of the injury, charges and custody do seem a bit premature.