30 years of coaching at one school and Ron Ream honestly says he's never experienced anything like he has over the past week. Last Thursday, Ream was forced to resign from his position at the school because an altercation involving a football player with an assistant coach during a game. The player punched the coach in the face several times on the sidelines, forcing the coach to go to the hospital and to this point hasn't even returned to coach.
The player has been suspended indefinitely from the team however he continues to go to school and to this point has not been suspended by the institution.
I've come to know Ream over the time I've spent here. I can honestly say, Ream has been nothing but a class act to me and every student who has walked on a field and strapped on a helmet for him. Now you can understand why after he was asked to resign, thousands of people who's kids went to Benjamin, used to go to Benjamin or went to the school themselves asked the school to re-consider their decision and reinstate Ream.
Ream told me himself he was so touched by the outpouring of support. He had over 200 emails and his voicemail had so many messages, after a while no one could leave any because it was filled up. This is a guy who doesn't even own a cell phone, but yet everyone found a way to call him at his work phone or at home to talk to him about being back.
In other words, Ream is one of the good guys in sports. Teaching kids the right way, and in 30 years to have this situation come on his watch after all the success he's had shouldn't judge his overall performance in his solid career.
I asked Ream once, why he stayed at Benjamin so long. If he actually ever wanted to coach at the college level and leave. He said he had a shot to do just that, but this is where he ultimately stayed because he was happy here. Making kids better people and at a school like Benjamin making them into professionals at the highest level.
There may not be NFL talent at this school, but plenty of doctors, lawyers, executives of Fortune 500 companies who now are just as successful in life as they were on the football field. If they played for Ream, the coach played a part in how great these kids have ultimately become. Now he'll continue to play his part for as long as he wants to.
