Former A&M athletic trainer says coaches forced him to clear “good” players

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BleedGopher

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per the Statesmen:

Karl Kapchinski, a long-time athletic trainer for Texas A&M who was fired two years ago, says coaches made him clear injured athletes before they were fully healed.

Kapchinski is a part of a segment featured in the season premiere tonight of HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

In an interview with Jon Frankel, Kapchinski said A&M coaches “put pressure on you to get good players back.”

Kapchinski is a 1979 graduate of A&M. He worked at the university for 31 years. He was fired, abruptly on Nov. 1. 2013. That was the day before A&M played Texas-El Paso at Kyle Field.

http://collegesports.blog.statesman...ays-coaches-forced-him-to-clear-good-players/

Go Gophers!!
 

To some degree I would bet you could get this same account from pretty much any trainer out there if they didn't think they would get fired for talking. As long as the coaches have any say in the employment status of the medical staff there will always be pressure on them to get players back on the field as quickly as possible. With the amount of money at stake these days coaches are under immense pressure to win now so it would be foolish to think they wouldn't do everything in their power to try and get their best players on the field even if at times that means putting the needs of the team ahead of what is best for the players. Doesn't make it right or acceptable but it is simply a reality of D1 athletics in an era where it is win now or get fired.

Not saying all coaches would put a player in danger and clearly some will be far worse then others but to some degree this goes on everywhere. The difference is now, with social media, players and staff are starting to feel more able to go public with it.
 

Yes, nothing new. I know someone who played under Stoll in the 70's and it happened back then as well.
 


If I remember correctly, and it's been two years since we canned this guy, he was asked by our Athletic Director to provide his services as head trainer to ALL athletic programs and oversee all the other trainers. Yet, he went to the football practices every single day and stood around and watched.

He was asked to be a manager and a leader for our training program, but instead refused direct orders and just hung out on the practice field to avoid his assigned duties. That got him canned, and I'm sure he's bitter about it after working with our program for three decades.

I'm sure he loved watching the team practice every day, but when you get promoted to the upper ranks, you've got other responsibilities. You're not a grad assistant who gets to hang around with the team all day anymore.

Therefore, you have to take what he says with a grain of salt. Every trainer feels pressure to get star players back on the field from coaching staffs, this guy's just got an axe to grind and wants to air dirty laundry. Karl also only worked under Sumlin for a single season, so he may even be referring to long-gone coaches.

Just move on to a new job quietly and learn your lesson about doing the duties your boss assigns you to.
 


The devil is in the details here. Depends on what he can prove.
 

Karl is an old friend of mine. He's an ethical guy, through and through.
 

metrolax said:
Karl is an old friend of mine. He's an ethical guy, through and through.
Click to expand...

I have no doubt that he is a good guy, but what is the purpose of going on television and putting your former employer in a negative light?

He was the athletic trainer of the year from the national trainer's association, I'm sure he could have found a job at any number of colleges and perhaps could have even gotten a raise in the process.

I love working at Texas A&M just as much as the next guy, but if my job changes such that I don't like what I am doing anymore, I can't let blind loyalty keep me from looking into other options.
 





TexasAggie11 said:
I have no doubt that he is a good guy, but what is the purpose of going on television and putting your former employer in a negative light?

He was the athletic trainer of the year from the national trainer's association, I'm sure he could have found a job at any number of colleges and perhaps could have even gotten a raise in the process.

I love working at Texas A&M just as much as the next guy, but if my job changes such that I don't like what I am doing anymore, I can't let blind loyalty keep me from looking into other options.
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Does it really matter that he "didn't like parts of his job?" Does that some how make what he said not true? I've never been a big fan of going on TV to bash a former employer, but I do think in the context of today's sporting world, the issue he raises is an important one.

Unless some schools smarten up and start taking player safety seriously, more and mores stories like this will be told and it will eventually tarnish the game.
 

Deckergopher said:
This is how we fly in SEC country baby.
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Really? That is most definitely NOT true and you certainly don't have to go down south.

That fact of the matter is folks don't say anything because they will be slaughtered personally and professionally.

There is no upside.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Sportsfan24 said:
Really? That is most definitely NOT true and you certainly don't have to go down south.

That fact of the matter is folks don't say anything because they will be slaughtered personally and professionally.

There is no upside.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Yep, the ones still working at the schools can't say anything because they will destroy their career so the only reports come from people who are no longer there. Of course the general public immediately discredits them as having an axe to grind against their former employer who they all want to believe can do no wrong and would never mistreat players/staff in their noble quest for victory.

Athletics in general and college athletics specifically are great but there is an underbelly that most fans do not want to admit exists in the way things are run. And as the money keeps going up that isn't going to get any better, it will only get worse. Heck, coaches are getting fired after only 2 years in some cases which in football is insane.
 



MNVCGUY said:
Yep, the ones still working at the schools can't say anything because they will destroy their career so the only reports come from people who are no longer there. Of course the general public immediately discredits them as having an axe to grind against their former employer who they all want to believe can do no wrong and would never mistreat players/staff in their noble quest for victory.

Athletics in general and college athletics specifically are great but there is an underbelly that most fans do not want to admit exists in the way things are run. And as the money keeps going up that isn't going to get any better, it will only get worse. Heck, coaches are getting fired after only 2 years in some cases which in football is insane.
Click to expand...

Great points. College and Pro football is a big fraternity and one can easily get blackballed.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Its important to remember that Karl is an Aggie himself and has always loved his school.
 

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