Robstown community speaks on Coach Miller's recent hire

Parents are speaking up on the recent hire of Coach Rusty Miller at Robstown ISD on social media.

On Thursday, KRIS 6 shared a video where former Banquete baseball coach , Rusty Miller appears screaming at one of his baseball players and then stopping the teen from getting up from his chair.

Since that video was posted on social media, there's been an overwhelming response in support of Coach Miller.

Kris 6 News.

Alesandra Soto wrote, “There is nothing wrong with this a coach being a coach.”

Joshua Coffield wrote, “I have nothing but respect for Coach Miller and would love to have him coach and mentor my sons any day. I do not know the circumstances behind the incident, but I know l've personally been corrected by a coach in the same manner and deserved every bit of it. It actually changed my life for the better, it's called discipline but maybe I'm old school and was raised different, my parents would have shook his hand and said thank you,” Coffield added.

Jeramie Marek wrote, “I played under Rusty and he disciplined when needed to be disciplined, but at the end, it was all out of love for the betterment of the players. He is a fantastic coach and person and has a lot of passion for what he does and how he molds young men. I support this guy whole heartedly!”

However, there are also a couple of people who don’t agree with Coach Miller’s actions.

Kris 6 News.

Jason Almaraz wrote, “I'm all for being tough on kids, and I know this is a generation of sensitive parents and students. But if y'all are giving that coach a pass, you better not be crying when a teacher does the same thing. Remember, a coach is a teacher too.”

Daniel Lugo wrote,” Yell and scream all you want to the team, but don’t lay a hand on them, but that’s just me.”

We spoke with Licensed Clinical Sports psychologist Julie Wiernik who has worked with athletes of all ages.

Wiernik said she saw the video that was released on Thursday showing Coach Miller screaming at his team, and said the way he acted in the video is unacceptable.

“Parents are desensitized because of the way they say, well that is just coaching, that is just tough love, that is just discipline, but from my perspective a lot of it is called emotional abuse,” Wiernik said. “Anybody screaming at someone or humiliating someone or putting your hands on someone in my opinion, there should be consequences for those actions.”

Wiernik also added there are times where some parents can tend to get too carried away with the game rather than how the players are feeling.

“I think the problem is, if coaches are winning, people tend to kind of look away from any kind of coaches problems or abuse because our society is so focused on winning so they must be a great coach, but that is not actually true,” Wiernik said.

BANQUETE VIDEO RELEASED:

The Superintendent of Robstown, Mark Puig, said Miller will be treated like any other new hire and that he gets a fresh start in Robstown ISD.

“We are going to move forward, put this behind us and embrace mister miller, and make sure that he comes here and understands our expectations or professionalism and what it means to serve the children of Robstown ISD,” Puig said

Puig said his district has seen the video showing Coach Miller’s interaction with the player.

Puig added the district is excited to welcome Coach Miller to their team.

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