Let's assume, for sake of argument, that you're right: i.e. that the father is telling the truth, and that the coaches DID agree, in the telephone call, to play johnny on every down on defense, then in the last game broke their word. I agree with you that doing nothing would send a message that it's OK to break your word. Question, though: is there something else the father could have done? Could he have waited until the end of the season, then fired the coaches? Could he have removed his son from the team? Was the entire team aware of the consequences, i.e. that the coaches would be fired if they disobeyed dad? Does it change your view if the rest of the team, and the parents, were unaware of this agreement and the consequences?
There's another issue here, too: what happens if the kid gets hurt? Are the coaches still supposed to play him on "every down"? What happens if their offense commits a turnover (fumble, interception), the other team recovers and now is advancing the other way. Are the coaches in trouble because johnny isn't in on the play, given that the offense is now the defense? lol
Why? Fire the coaches, get two more, and continue the season. Life goes on.
"is there something else the father could have done?"
I'm sure.
But consider this. The guy's mother dies. He goes out of town for the funeral, missing his son's game. While he's away, the coaches don't play his son on defense.
Now he's thinking, "WTF? Why did you guys do that?" He probably wants to brag to the high school or the college that his son "never missed one second of one game" playing defense. Now look what happened.
So he's upset. I would be too.
"Was the entire team aware of the consequences?"
Probably not. But the coaches were, and they chose to violate the specific conditions outlined in the e-mail. Now, in their defense, they probably thought they wouldn't be fired, considering the standing of the team. They thought wrong.
So now they throw themselves on the mercy of the liberal press, crying that there "was a misunderstanding" and looking for public pressure to change things. As much as I don't like the commissioner for his heavy-handed e-mail, I'm liking the coaches less for their poor-me, crybaby antics. The time to stand up to this clown was at the beginning of the season.