Fighting Coaches Learn Fate

Eugene city prosecutors on Thursday dismissed their case against a Kidsports youth basketball coach who had been charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly scuffling with an opposing coach who confronted him during a game.

Springfield resident Michael Caley, 24, said it was “a big relief” to learn that he would not be prosecuted on a charge of disorderly conduct for his alleged participation in a dust-up that occurred during a Jan. 22 contest between a pair of eighth-grade basketball teams at Jefferson Middle School.

Meanwhile, Jeffery Cox — the coach accused of tussling with Caley — pleaded “no contest” Thursday to a misdemeanor physical harassment charge in connection with the incident. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct that Cox, 34, initially faced.

Cox’s conviction will be erased from his criminal record if he completes a court-ordered diversion program that includes anger management training. He is also barred from any contact with Caley, prosecutor Karrie McIntyre said.

Cox, a Eugene resident, was helping coach his son’s Willamette team when he confronted Caley about a foul that he perceived as being unnecessarily rough, police said.

Police alleged that the two men pushed each other after arguing in front of Caley’s team’s bench.

Caley served as head coach of one of Thurston’s eighth-grade squads. He served a one-game suspension before returning to his team.

Kidsports officials barred Cox indefinitely from coaching or attending any games, the organization’s executive director, Bev Smith, said after the incident.

Fighting Coaches Learn Fate

The Register-Guard (Eugene, Ore.), Jack Moran

http://www.registerguard.com/web/newslocalnews/26181463-41/caley-coach-cox-misdemeanor-charge.html.csp

Eugene city prosecutors on Thursday dismissed their case against a Kidsports youth basketball coach who had been charged with a misdemeanor for allegedly scuffling with an opposing coach who confronted him during a game.

Springfield resident Michael Caley, 24, said it was “a big relief” to learn that he would not be prosecuted on a charge of disorderly conduct for his alleged participation in a dust-up that occurred during a Jan. 22 contest between a pair of eighth-grade basketball teams at Jefferson Middle School.

Meanwhile, Jeffery Cox — the coach accused of tussling with Caley — pleaded “no contest” Thursday to a misdemeanor physical harassment charge in connection with the incident. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dismissed a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct that Cox, 34, initially faced.

Cox’s conviction will be erased from his criminal record if he completes a court-ordered diversion program that includes anger management training. He is also barred from any contact with Caley, prosecutor Karrie McIntyre said.

Cox, a Eugene resident, was helping coach his son’s Willamette team when he confronted Caley about a foul that he perceived as being unnecessarily rough, police said.

Police alleged that the two men pushed each other after arguing in front of Caley’s team’s bench.

Caley served as head coach of one of Thurston’s eighth-grade squads. He served a one-game suspension before returning to his team.

Kidsports officials barred Cox indefinitely from coaching or attending any games, the organization’s executive director, Bev Smith, said after the incident.