A High School Football Player Was Accidentally Killed During A Team Building Exercise Made Popular By The Navy SEALs

TheComeback- A freak accident during a team-building activity during a high school football practice took a tragic turn on Thursday morning in New York, claiming the life of a high school junior. A log fell on the head of Joshua Mileto, 16, and he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital after being rushed for treatment.

The log was being used as part of an exercise commonly used by U.S. Navy SEALs. The log was being carried by Mileto and a handful of teammates when at some point the log fell and struck the WR/CB in the head. No other injuries were reported.

Questions have already been raised about whether or not a high school football team should be performing drills designed for Navy SEALs. In recent years, however, the idea of going through a Navy SEALs workout with a football team has been advertised, and perhaps glorified, by a variety of college football programs. Of course, college football players collectively are in much better shape to handle those types of workouts than high schoolers. Representatives and coaches from Sachem East High School have not commented on the situation while an investigation is underway by local authorities.

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I know this goes against the very nature of modern society, but can we just consider this an incredibly unfortunate, stand alone incident that is the fault of no one person? I know this sounds extremely dismissive since an innocent teenager's life was lost but sometimes shit just happens. Perhaps it's naive for my immediate assume to be that a high school football coach wasn't pushing his players past the brink of exhaustion in hopes of preparing them for the upcoming season, but I also don't think anyone should be too quick to judge his outside of the box team building techniques. 

For instance, an investigation by local authorities seems a bit excessive unless there's at least one eyewitness account that the players were being put at risk by being reprimanded to continue a drill they were physically unfit for. Maybe it's just me (or my memory of pushing tractor trailer tires around a hockey rink with a stick as a middle schooler), but I don't consider asking a group of athletes to collectively lift a log over their heads as an irresponsible risk to their health. As far as I am concerned, Joshua Mileto would have been far more likely to meet a similar fate by bashing his skull against those of his peers in hope of stopping them short of the chains than by holding a tree trunk over his head with his friends. 

Now, if a bunch of 16 year olds were carrying a log that was the same size and weight as those used by the grown men that are preparing to fight for this country's freedom then we definitely have an issue. I'm just not ready to prematurely blame a coach whose conscience is probably feeling pretty damn guilty regardless, even if 2017's idea of multitasking is pointing fingers while jumping to conclusions. My deepest sympathies go out to Joshua Mileto's family, but unless you're a part of it then you shouldn't immediately chastise some of the unorthodox things that you agree to when you choose to partake in competitive team sports.