Thursday, November 1, 2007

Michael Crawley Charged

Michael Crawley says he "lost his cool."

For losing his cool, Crawley has been
charged with two misdemeanors.
The Cudahy assistant football coach accused of allegedly attacking a player during practice was charged with two misdemeanors Thursday.

Coach Michael Crawley was charged with battery, a Class A Misdemeanor and disorderly conduct, a Class B Misdemeanor.

The maximum penalty of the battery charge is a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than 9 months, or both.

The maximum penalty of the disorderly conduct charge is a fine of not more than $1,000 or imprisonment for not more than 90 days, or both.

Crawley is accused of attacking 12-year-old Ryan Mullarney.

...More players and their parents are speaking out against Coach Michael Crawley.

For the first time, TODAY’S TMJ4 talked with another Cudahy player who claims he quit the team because of Coach Michael Crawley’s abrasive and threatening behavior.

Trevor Krogman played football for Coach Crawley last year, but quit before the season ended.

“There wasn’t a day I don’t remember that he didn’t come home and say Coach Crawley was screaming,” Cheryl Krogman said.

Trevor and his mom Cheryl weren’t surprised when they heard coach Crawley is under investigation for picking up current player Ryan Mullarney and slamming him to the ground. After many complaints, they just don’t know why Crawley was still coaching.

“It’s been an issue for a long period of time and obviously they didn’t take it seriously enough because he was still coaching up until Saturday and I really hope he never coaches again,” Cheryl Krogman said.

I don't understand why Crawley was still coaching if so many parents were against him.

Did they complain to the proper authorities in the league about Crawley or did they just talk about their dislike for him with each other?

TODAY’S TMJ4 talked with Coach Crawley in court Wednesday. He denies harming his player and claims he’s extremely upset about the allegations.

...TODAY’S TMJ4 also asked Coach Crawley’s lawyer about his defense.

TODAY’S TMJ4’s Mick Trevey: “You’ve got several adult witnesses who say that your client picked this kid up and slammed him to the ground – how can you refute that?”

“There are several other adult witnesses that were on the scene at the time who dispute that’s the chronology and the scenario that happened,” Attorney T.J. Perlick-Molinari said.

That's why two assistant coaches from the team then met with the district attorney's office. Even though Crawley admitted he lost his cool, they insist he didn't slam Mullarney to the ground. Ryan Mullarney's mom doesn't believe them.

“We’ve got 80 of our own, we have a football field. I’m not worried about his witnesses,” Lynn Brellenthin said.

The battle lines are being drawn.
The alleged victim, Ryan Mullarney, also talked to the district attorney asking for charges.

“He's just an uncontrolled man and he should go to jail,” Mullarney said.

Ever since Mullarney did interviews with every Milwaukee media outlet that would have him, I've wondered about his mother's motives.

I would not be trotting out my child to talk to the press in a case like this.

Mullarney looks like he's having a good time, like he's enjoying the attention.

"He's just an uncontrolled man and he should go to jail."

Maybe Crawley should go to jail, but I think the kid should stop talking.

...Jack Littman, who runs the Cudahy Bulldogs Football program, told Lauren Leamanczyk he always knew Crawley was an intense coach who yelled at the refs. Still, he says he never had an excessive number of complaints about him.

That strikes me as odd.

If Crawley was such a hothead, why did parents tolerate him?

Why didn't the parents express their serious concerns to Littman?

As parents, as responsible adults, they should have demanded that Crawley not be allowed to coach their children.

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Jim Stingl campaigns for a "Coach of the Year" award.

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