Email from CalSouth this morning:
A Communication From The Protest, Appeal, and Disciplinary Committee
Dear Coaches, Club and League Administrators, and Team Managers,
The Cal South PAD Committee realizes that people are doing their best to blaze a path forward in these unprecedented times. There has been a great deal of confusion up until now over which rules apply, and to whom they apply too. In one location, teams were practicing, and in another location, they were not. People had far more questions, than anyone had answers, but now the State has released clear guidelines for us all to follow, and follow them we must. To that end, the PAD Committee would like to share these updates.
1) Coaches Have and Will Continue To Be Suspended for Failing to Follow Return To Play Protocols
PAD has suspended Coaches for not following the mandates of the State of California. There are Coaches that are in the middle of hearings. There are Coaches that are just receiving warning letters and phone calls for not following the RTP Protocols. Many more Coaches will be warned, and several of them, will end up getting suspended, as well, for failing to follow the RTP Protocols. These RTP Protocols are in place to protect the safety and well-being of all coaches, players and families.
Coaches, above all else, wear your masks at practice. Administer temperature checks of every player before the start of practice. Have the players use plenty of sanitizer throughout practice.
2) No Insurance Coverage for Communicable Diseases
Cal South PAD wants all Coaches, Club and League Administrators, and Team Managers to know the US Courts are starting to report the first set of cases for wrongful death lawsuits tied to COVID-19 and the number of lawsuits grows daily. As expected, the targets of these lawsuits are the people within organizations responsible for establishing the environment in which the virus was contracted. These lawsuits claim those responsible were either negligent or grossly negligent of providing a safe environment.
In terms we in soccer can understand, if you take part in a scrimmage/game/tournament, at which someone contracts the virus and it is determined that person died as a result of a failure to follow the established guidelines of the state. The hosts could be found negligent, and guilty, of that persons wrongful death.
If you are supposed to wear masks and social distance and the event doesn’t follow those guidelines, the people that hosted that event can be considered negligent for not having planned an event that followed standard protocols for safe operation of that event. Be clear and understand that there is NO WAIVER that can protect a coach, team manager or club admin from being held personally liable in a case where their actions or inactions were found Negligent or Grossly Negligent.
Moreover, there is NO INSURANCE, to either defend the case, nor to pay out a claim or settlement. A Coach in this situation would be completely on their own to defend the case and personally liable for any award that is made. There is NO INSURANCE that will cover communicable disease driven lawsuits. A coach may be found negligent or grossly negligent if it is determined that they weren’t following established protocols, and as a result, personally liable for damages. Please follow all the state and local government requirements as well as the Cal South’s return to play protocols in order to stay safe, protect the players and protect yourselves.
3) Recruitment During Pandemic
Cal South Staff and Board Members have seen examples of content displayed on social media and club websites in which clubs are actively recruiting based on the premise that their club is practicing without restrictions, or playing games or tournaments, when another club cannot.
Regardless of where your team or club is along the return to play spectrum, no club, team or coach should use the Pandemic as a tool against another club to bolster their organizations registration counts. Parents will do whatever parents will do. There is no need to make a bad situation worse by creating unnecessary drama. Please do not advertisement and/or induce players to join your club, on the basis of being able to practice, scrimmage or play when other teams cannot.
*If any of these updates give you pause, they should. Let us be clear, the entirety of this content is informative. Nothing in this communication is meant to be a rule, policy, protocol or other. This communication is simply to inform our members of their potential liability, remind them of their accountability, and ask that everyone thoroughly contemplate the steps you and your organization are taking, or are not taking, to follow the guidelines and protocols of the State, County and Cal South. Following the protocols will get us all back to play faster than if we continue to have rogue coaches either advance past the stage their community is supposed to be in, or decide not to honor the protocols of the stage they are in.*
A Communication From The Protest, Appeal, and Disciplinary Committee
Dear Coaches, Club and League Administrators, and Team Managers,
The Cal South PAD Committee realizes that people are doing their best to blaze a path forward in these unprecedented times. There has been a great deal of confusion up until now over which rules apply, and to whom they apply too. In one location, teams were practicing, and in another location, they were not. People had far more questions, than anyone had answers, but now the State has released clear guidelines for us all to follow, and follow them we must. To that end, the PAD Committee would like to share these updates.
1) Coaches Have and Will Continue To Be Suspended for Failing to Follow Return To Play Protocols
PAD has suspended Coaches for not following the mandates of the State of California. There are Coaches that are in the middle of hearings. There are Coaches that are just receiving warning letters and phone calls for not following the RTP Protocols. Many more Coaches will be warned, and several of them, will end up getting suspended, as well, for failing to follow the RTP Protocols. These RTP Protocols are in place to protect the safety and well-being of all coaches, players and families.
Coaches, above all else, wear your masks at practice. Administer temperature checks of every player before the start of practice. Have the players use plenty of sanitizer throughout practice.
2) No Insurance Coverage for Communicable Diseases
Cal South PAD wants all Coaches, Club and League Administrators, and Team Managers to know the US Courts are starting to report the first set of cases for wrongful death lawsuits tied to COVID-19 and the number of lawsuits grows daily. As expected, the targets of these lawsuits are the people within organizations responsible for establishing the environment in which the virus was contracted. These lawsuits claim those responsible were either negligent or grossly negligent of providing a safe environment.
In terms we in soccer can understand, if you take part in a scrimmage/game/tournament, at which someone contracts the virus and it is determined that person died as a result of a failure to follow the established guidelines of the state. The hosts could be found negligent, and guilty, of that persons wrongful death.
If you are supposed to wear masks and social distance and the event doesn’t follow those guidelines, the people that hosted that event can be considered negligent for not having planned an event that followed standard protocols for safe operation of that event. Be clear and understand that there is NO WAIVER that can protect a coach, team manager or club admin from being held personally liable in a case where their actions or inactions were found Negligent or Grossly Negligent.
Moreover, there is NO INSURANCE, to either defend the case, nor to pay out a claim or settlement. A Coach in this situation would be completely on their own to defend the case and personally liable for any award that is made. There is NO INSURANCE that will cover communicable disease driven lawsuits. A coach may be found negligent or grossly negligent if it is determined that they weren’t following established protocols, and as a result, personally liable for damages. Please follow all the state and local government requirements as well as the Cal South’s return to play protocols in order to stay safe, protect the players and protect yourselves.
3) Recruitment During Pandemic
Cal South Staff and Board Members have seen examples of content displayed on social media and club websites in which clubs are actively recruiting based on the premise that their club is practicing without restrictions, or playing games or tournaments, when another club cannot.
Regardless of where your team or club is along the return to play spectrum, no club, team or coach should use the Pandemic as a tool against another club to bolster their organizations registration counts. Parents will do whatever parents will do. There is no need to make a bad situation worse by creating unnecessary drama. Please do not advertisement and/or induce players to join your club, on the basis of being able to practice, scrimmage or play when other teams cannot.
*If any of these updates give you pause, they should. Let us be clear, the entirety of this content is informative. Nothing in this communication is meant to be a rule, policy, protocol or other. This communication is simply to inform our members of their potential liability, remind them of their accountability, and ask that everyone thoroughly contemplate the steps you and your organization are taking, or are not taking, to follow the guidelines and protocols of the State, County and Cal South. Following the protocols will get us all back to play faster than if we continue to have rogue coaches either advance past the stage their community is supposed to be in, or decide not to honor the protocols of the stage they are in.*
