If you’re a fan of courtroom television (no not the small claims court shows that clutter the networks), you have to be fascinated by the Casey Anthony trial that also litters every other channel.

There is another trial that is going on in Orlando that possibly more profoundly affects the mass population than the so-called “case against Casey” spectacle. It involves an athlete who died three years ago on the campus of the University of Central Florida, Ereck Plancher, whose family filed a wrongful death suit against UCF.

The reason this is far more significant than the “case against Casey” trial is that the results could profoundly affect the way colleges and high schools conduct the way they work with athletes.

Ereck Plancher was a 19-year old football player who collapsed and died after a workout supervised by UCF coach George O’Leary on March 19, 2008. The suit claims that UCF staffers failed to properly treat their son from complications of a medical condition sickle cell trait and that it contributed to his death. UCF counters that they did everything to save his life.

At the time of this writing, the trial was just getting underway, but the results could dramatically impact the way coaches at all levels conduct their practices and game day events. Since my son Cory is a football and weightlifting coach, it concerns me that he might be putting himself or his athletes in harm’s way.

Cory and his twin brother, Jason, are both actively involved in competitive Olympic weightlifting on a state and national level. Jason and his wife Jessica were trained and educated at the United States Olympic Education Center in Marquette, Michigan on the campus of Northern Michigan University.

All have long been proponents of the abolition of the bench press in high school competitions because there is no Olympic level competition for the bench press, but more importantly, because of the potential dangers for injury when spotters fail at their role.

Failure can lead to everything from injuries to the face and neck to a crushed chest. A number of deaths have been caused as a result of the bench press. The Consumer Product Safety Commission was even petitioned to label bench presses “WARNING: FATAL DANGER.” Too strong of a hint maybe?

Principally, it is not a demonstration of athleticism but it is popularly used by football coaches who are anxious to hasten the development of upper body strength, thinking this will help them on the gridiron. While this lift has merit as an accessory exercise to strength and conditioning programs, it should never be the focus.

The specific motion of the bench press is never used on the field, unless you are pushing someone off of you if you are lying on your back! You can hear O-line and D-line coaches now: “We push every play!” That “push” means nothing without legs. A 500-pound bench press means nothing with a 200-pound back squat. Might as well have a Ferrari with a Dodge Neon engine in it… it sure looks good standing still.

Of major concern is the potential downside of the exercise and possibility of injury occurring. Ask any person who has bench pressed for any duration of time about what hurts: shoulders. Coaches have been resistant to change mainly because they don’t know proper weightlifting technique and are resistant to changing the way they coach.

The end result could put coaches and institutions in harm’s way because there is sufficient data to support the abolition of the overused, almost unnecessary exercise. Let’s play “What if?” for a moment. What if an athlete dies from a 350-pound bar that is dropped on his face and breaks his neck? You would have a long line of attorneys biting at the bit to defend that athlete… just look at Stafon Johnson lawsuit against Southern Cal.

Admittedly, there are inherent risks in every sport, but this is one of the few events that put you in a vulnerable position because there is no escape if the spotter fails in their duties. That is simply too much risk to take. Moreover, spotters occasionally get hurt too when they have rescue unbelievably heavy weight from their own awkward position. This is just an almost preventable disaster waiting to happen.

The next time you get frustrated at a wrongful death suit filed by someone against your favorite school, ask yourself the question “Did the people in charge do everything in their power to keep their athletes out of danger?”

This lawsuit, not the “case against Casey” is profoundly more important because of the dangers and responsibilities of all the parties involved.