Football coach was Shot on School Campus

Rhonda Miller, a cousin of Robertson's wife, was among the relatives gathered outside the jail Thursday night to help support Robertson's wife and son. Miller said she didn't want Robertson portrayed as "a lunatic" because he wasn't the only one frustrated with the school's athletic program.

I love Texas, I really do. Y'all gave us GWB, Tex-Mex, and lots of oil.

But this story is a clear example of just how crazy y'all are when it comes to football. Cheerleader moms and football dads think nothing of opening fire on coaches, other cheerleaders, or anyone else. A former Governor authorized paying money to a college football player.

Then you have this cousin of the wife of the shooter who thinks that the shooter isn't a lunatic for opening fire on campus and then trying to kill himself. In 49 states and DC this man's a lunatic; in Texas, it's over football, and if they don't fix the football program -- well, then you just shoot whoever is responsible just like you'd shoot a rattlesnake.

And no, I'm not wearing asbestos; I've got kevlar on, because y'all from the Lone Star State won't flame me; you'll shoot me. It's deeper than politics or religion or family -- it's FOOTBALL!!

Miller said she didn't want Robertson portrayed as "a lunatic" because he wasn't the only one frustrated with the school's athletic program.

Shooting the coach and slashing his own wrists?

I'll go out on a limb and characterize him as a lunatic.

Shooting the coach and slashing his own wrists?

Especially if he tried to slash his wrists with an electric razor.

http://www.barbneal.com/wav/ltunes/yosemite/Sam12.wav

But this story is a clear example of just how crazy y'all are when it comes to football.

Oh please. These are the actions of a few goofballs in the 2nd most populous state in the union. I guess you didn't notice that he had broken a leg in some road rage scrap 6 months earlier? Or do you think all Texans routinely get involved in road rage fights, too?

Nice glass house you have there, or do you think Maurice Clarett and all the others involved in the scandal tainted Ohio State program are actually secret Texas transplants?

SOUTH PARK episode on Wed. night was about parents fighting at their kids games...

I wonder if he watched?

Why, oh why, would you commit suicide by SLASHING your wrists while in a car full of </painless> guns.

Not to mention some of the Ohio State players claiming that they had received death threats if they spilled the beans to NCAA investigators. Musta been the Buckeye alums in Texas...

But this story is a clear example of just how crazy y'all are when it comes to football.

Count me out there bud. If there was no football anywhere tomorrow I would not notice. I'm a native Texan.

This guy is a coward and a wimp. He shoots an unarmed man, then runs away and tries to off himself with a knife when he has guns.

I'd bet money he is not a native Texan. He probably moved here from your state:)

The dumbass media said it was an 'assault rifle' another said it was an AK-47. Never seen an AK-47 in .45acp, sounds like the media doesn't know their head from their ass.

I will already bet that this guy had a drug problem and relatives will call him nuts.

Why, oh why, would you commit suicide by SLASHING your wrists while in a car full of guns.

I'd venture to say because by using a gun it's final. Brains on the dashboard. By slashing his wrists, he has a chance to go for the insanity plea.

Ah, I think you hit the nail on the head here buddy.

Kudos to whatever Texas doctor(s) and other medical did to save this guy with a .45 hit to the chest!

Bingo.

You nailed it. He did it for the sympathy plea. "Oh look he showed some remorse afterwards, he tried to take his own life." If he really wanted to do it he would have shot himself.

***The dumbass media said it was an 'assault rifle' another said it was an AK-47. Never seen an AK-47 in .45acp, sounds like the media doesn't know their head from their ass.***

Ditto that.
The dumb@$$ ditz who comes on Fox News after Linda Vester's show said "AK-47" at least 100 freaking times. In fact she couldn't say "AK-47" enough. She was almost 'orgasmic' over it. And I don't recall her saying 'allegedly' either.

Right then and there I said to myself, "I bet it wasn't".

CANTON COACH SHOT;
DISGRUNTLED PARENT ARRESTED

By: KENNETH DEAN, Staff Writer April 07, 2005

SUSPECT CAUGHT: Jeff Robertson is loaded into an ambulance, following a manhunt in Garden Valley, Texas after apparently shooting the Canton High School Athletic Director on Thursday. (Staff Photo By: Tom Worner)

CANTON - Police said they would charge a Canton man with attempted capital murder after he shot the Canton High School athletic director on campus at close range with a handgun.
The suspect, Jeffrey Doyle Robertson, 45, was disgruntled with the athletic program, Canton Police Chief Michael Echols said.
"It seems he has been upset with the coaching system here at the school for quite some time," Echols said. "The suspect was drinking heavily last night for his birthday and we believe it may have played a part in all of this."

On Wednesday the suspect's son had been removed from the athletic program, a student said, but authorities would not confirm the information.
Gary Joe Kinne, the athletic director and head football coach, was rushed by helicopter to Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler where a family spokesman Thursday afternoon said he was in critical condition. Stewart Regional Blood Center appealed for blood donations to help Kinne.
Robertson, 45, fled the campus in his 2004 pickup truck. He was spotted at 12:15 p.m. by a television news helicopter, about 20 miles east of Canton near the Garden Valley Golf Resort.
He abandoned his truck on a road and ran into the woods. When authorities caught up with Doyle shortly after 2 p.m., he was bleeding badly from self-inflicted cuts to his arms and a stab wound to his left thigh.
Echols said Robertson had taken several firearms with him into the woods, including a .45-caliber handgun.
Robertson was taken by helicopter to East Texas Medical Center in Tyler and later released. Canton Police Department officers took him back to Canton. A deputy at the Van Zandt County Justice Center Thursday night said Robertson would be arraigned either later that night or early Friday.
At 9:14 a.m., Robertson entered the field house at the high school and shot Kinne once at close range in the abdomen area with a unknown caliber handgun," Echols said.
The badly injured Kinne called someone on his cell phone, who then called 911, Echols said.
The shooting sent law officers from throughout Van Zandt County racing to the school, where frantic parents desperate to get their children waited nervously outside.
LOCKDOWN
Immediately, officials locked down all Canton school campuses. Students were kept inside classrooms, away from windows and hidden behind furniture.
When word got out that Robertson was armed, dangerous and on the loose, some businesses near the school locked their doors for protection.
Canton police learned Robertson apparently had a "hit list" and had allegedly threatened to kill others. Five people were quickly taken to the police department for their protection, Echols said.
"We thought we needed to protect them, so we took them into protective custody to do so. There was no written list, just verbal threats," Echols said during a news conference at the high school.
Echols said Robertson, a Canton High School parent, had a history with the law and had been warned to stay away from the premises and all school activities after several incidents.
"He had charges filed against him in August for disorderly conduct but those charges were later dropped by the coach who initiated them," Echols said.
After securing the scene at the schools, Echols met with anxious parents at the school, who said their children were scared and wanted to go home. "I understand everyone is concerned, but the schools are locked down and that is the safest place right now for the kids," he said.
But parents continued to argue with Echols, saying their children were calling from their cell phones.
"The superintendent decided to keep the school on lockdown for safety and that is what we are going to do," he replied to their continued questions.
The students were released after Robertson was taken into custody. Other schools in Van Zandt County and some schools in Smith County also went into lockdown.
MANHUNT
Police then began an intensive search for Robertson, which ended up on Smith County Road 422 near the intersection of Texas Highway 110 and Interstate 20.
Participating in the search were officers with the Canton and Van police departments; the Smith, Van Zandt and Henderson county sheriffs' offices; the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; Smith County constables and district attorney's investigators; the Texas Department of Public Safety; game wardens; Texas Rangers and several smaller police departments.
The small county road was filled with officers armed with both semiautomatic and automatic weapons, two tracking dogs and the Smith County Sheriff's Department SWAT team as DPS and television choppers flew overhead.
After searching several areas, police received information that a man dumping grass clippings on the back side of the golf course had spotted Robertson in the vicinity of Butler Lake on the Dogwood course between County Road 422 and Farm-to-Market Road 1995.
CAPTURE
Smith County Deputy Constable Mark Waters was the first officer to arrive at the scene.
"He was barely conscious and was covered in his own blood where he tried to take his life. He was bad off enough that we called for a chopper. I'm not a doctor, but I would say he was in bad shape," he said.
Waters said Robertson was found lying face down and was armed only with the pocketknife he had used to cut his wrists.
"In the front passenger seat of Robertson's truck were a Ruger handgun and an AR-15 assault rifle. There was a magazine that had been taken out of the weapon laying on the seat, but I did not see any other ammunition in the vehicle," he said.
Echols would not discuss the other weapons, only to say Robertson had several in his possession.
"This is an ongoing investigation and we are still gathering the pieces. Several agencies are involved with processing the evidence, so I don't have the answers to all the questions being asked," he said.
School officials said school would be open Friday with counselors on hand for students if needed.
"We do not expect attendance to be high, but since there is no threat to the safety of the children we feel like it is best to move forward," Ben Bratcher, Canton school board president, said.
Kenneth Dean covers police, fire, public safety organizations, Cherokee and Rusk counties. He can be reached at 903.596.6353. e-mail: news@tylerpaper.com

©Tyler Morning Telegraph 2005

I live in Texas and agree with you. I have a son who was a 3 year starter at a 2A school with one of the top programs in Texas and his senior year made all-state linebacker, all-district TE, and most of all Academic All American. I can say without sounding conceited with 145 tackles he was their defense and their key blocker on offense. He now plays in college.

Over his high school career I had one occasion to speak to the coach other than say "good game" and it was civil and problem solved. There are however parents at our school that are like this moron and act as if football is more important than anything else. They rant and rave at every game, all they talk about when you see them in town is the damn football team all year long. Some suck up to the coach like he's a rich uncle, others bad mouth him behind his back all over town. You see guys who played 20 years ago talking about their big game every damn Friday night.

I went to one booster meeting and declined to join. Needless to say I was not in the "in circle" of parents after that choice.

It is all about money and the false hopes of your kid making it to the "big time". It has become sad that a coach is only given a limited contract 1-3 years to win or he is looking for a new job. When we changed coaches 5 years ago the guy that should have gotten it was an assitant at the time, turned it down for fear he wouldn't win enough for the boosters and have to uproot his family after 15 years and move on.

The UIL runs high school sports in Texas. The controlling force is not a group of citizens or parents as you would think, it is a group of coaches and superintendent ( most were coaches ) so you can imagine any rules that come into play are made sure not to interfere with football. The academic rules are a farse they say they set aside study time for the boys and enforce the no-pass no-play rules strictly. BS.

My 14 year old came home with a 69 on a 3 week progress report ( he is an "A" student who decided not to do any homework in this class ) and the school suspended him from sports for 3 weeks, events only. I suspended him for 6 ( including practices ) until I saw a report card with the better grade. His coaches called me telling me I was too strict and it was hurting the track team that he could not run. This was JV track and only 2 events to boot. My logic was nip in the bud now and it won't happen again. He would come home and tell me that the coaches were giving him a hard time about letting the team down, blah, blah ... Needless to say, the coach, superintendent, and I had a meeting of the minds and the super agreed with me. Sadly unless my boy turns out to be as good as his older brother I probably doomed his career.

Texas sports are fun to watch, but they suck. Try having a cheerleader. It is not an official sport of the school so all costs are borne by parents. Boys get to prctice at school and the school has a coach. If your kid wants to be a cheerleader and you don't spend $200-$500 a month on cheer and tumbling class they don't have a prayer. Some girls are in these classes 3-4 days a week every night starting at the age of 6-7. It is worse than football.

Enough soapbox.

Nice glass house you have there, or do you think Maurice Clarett and all the others involved in the scandal tainted Ohio State program are actually secret Texas transplants?

Hey, at least nobody here shot John Cooper -- although I'm sure there were plenty of Buckeye Fans who wanted to.

"But this story is a clear example of just how crazy y'all are when it comes to football. Cheerleader moms and football dads think nothing of opening fire on coaches, other cheerleaders, or anyone else"

NOT ALL OF US! I live in Texas too and I don't do any of the strange things you listed! It isn't all football in this town, Lake Jackson. And it isn't all football in Houston. Heck, they didn't even have a pro team for years, and their new one SUX.

I think way too much emphasis is placed on SPORTS and atheletes at ALL levels!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I used to be a cheerleader.