2 hours ago, Enoon said:

 

........and got away with it.

 

Just like the helmetless motorcyclists of Thailand have........"done it before".

 

 

Entered on the advice of the "warning" sign, strategically placed outside the cave entrance clearing advising not to enter between July and ??. 

But guess that  doesn't suit you and others with the hang-em high mentality. 

 

Does anyone know the "actual" age of the Coach. I've seen published 21, 25, and 26.

2 hours ago, Tradewind777 said:

I cannot believe some of the pathetic comments from the armchair judges in this forum.

 

If you don’t know what the circumstances and background is then shut the flock up or at the very least give this man the benefit of the doubt.  

Mis-informed experts, but don't ruin their 30 seconds of fame after such difficult thought processing.

3 hours ago, greenchair said:

Oh really? 

What's your understanding of that. 

I haven't heard that. 

I read the same in a previous forum. Parent called the coach when her son didn't arrive home. The coach then went to the cave alone looking for them in which case he is the ultimate hero in this crisis. Imagine all the ways this could have gone bad without an adult there. Phone records will clarify if true, best to hold judgement for now.

3 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Adding frequency to a risky endeavor does not diminish its risk. Having 'done this before' just means that he knowingly placed the kids at risk more frequently or was simply ignorant to the risks.

 

That said, it seems he has done remarkably well in looking after these kids and once 'stuck' his actions appear to have almost certainly saved lives.

He also seems to be a devoted coach, something very good in the lives of these children. But with certainty his poor choice placed them in grave danger. 

 

I initially saved comment on these threads out of respect for the families of these kids: I was quite sure we would be facing some tragic news in the days to come - The avoidance of such a potentially tragic loss is a great result for Thailand and the collective help they received. 

 

This story has touched the globe...

 

 

 

 

Hard to argue against the majority of what you outlined and generally in agreement with you. But don't overlook the detail clearly spelt-out on the warning side outside the cave entry - do you consider he wasn't in any way mindful of his own safety 

 

Possibly you should be directing the outcome to the authorities. 

Nothing much to say for the haters who have never taken a risk in  their lives and now bore us to death / I wish they would report 13 boys instead of 12  as it makes him seem separate from them . At 25 for a thai he is still a boy

5 hours ago, smileplur said:

My understanding is that the man entered the cave after being called by the parents.

Can you expand on this? 

9 hours ago, webfact said:

25 year old Ekaphon Janthawong

Ekaphon Janthwong for Prime Minister!!!!!

 

11 minutes ago, Artisi said:

But don't overlook the detail clearly spelt-out on the warning side outside the cave entry - do you consider he wasn't in any way mindful of his own safety 

Purely going by the wording of the warning sign outside the cave entry, it should have been safe to enter. It only cautioned about not entering from July onwards.

8 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

Purely going by the wording of the warning sign outside the cave entry, it should have been safe to enter. It only cautioned about not entering from July onwards.

There is a guidebook to caving in Thailand that also says it can be explored through June. And since they were familiar with this cave, likely its being dry through end of June had been their prior experience.

 

it was dry when they entered and the sky was clear. Sudden unexpected heavy storm. Obviously in retrospect this cave should be closed from sometime in May, not starting July, but hindsight is always 20/20.

19 minutes ago, Artisi said:

Can you expand on this? 

Read it on a previous post on another forum. Just ask my gf and she heard on local media several of the parents contacted the coach about their sons whereabouts. Such a shame to wrongly blame this young man when he was likely the first and most important first responder. 

1 hour ago, JAZZDOG said:

I read the same in a previous forum. Parent called the coach when her son didn't arrive home. The coach then went to the cave alone looking for them in which case he is the ultimate hero in this crisis. Imagine all the ways this could have gone bad without an adult there. Phone records will clarify if true, best to hold judgement for now.

You are right. We don't know the full story. 

But actually, I never held any judgement on any of them. It didn't even cross my mind to blame someone. Especially when they are all still stuck in the cave frightened and fighting for their lives. This is life and these things happen. Those people saying bad things about this coach just make angry. 

1 minute ago, Destiny1990 said:

U must been out of ur mind to let a single adult male always making cave trips with even more then 10  minors and none of them even his own kids.. And now u think  ur own children can join too with this great child friend mentor?

Sorry but i am a bit more protective for my kids.I leave it to the cops to investigate what was going on here..

They went on an adventure day out, the coach did nothing wrong, he read the sign, the sign said it was ok to enter, he was doing his best for the children. It was just unfortunate it rained whilst they were in there. Why do you and others want to hang this guy when he has done nothing wrong whatsoever. 

Did you have any freedom as a child or was you lock in an air tight room like Howard Hughes. There's probably more children killed on bicycles than lost in in caves. It was an unforseen happening!

 

9 hours ago, djjamie said:

Like I said, he deserves a medal. I also heard they’ll need to learn to dive if they want to get out ......... so as part of the training process they’re watching videos of Neymar playing football.

Learn to dive they said, not practice for an Oscar.

9 minutes ago, vogie said:

They went on an adventure day out, the coach did nothing wrong, he read the sign, the sign said it was ok to enter, he was doing his best for the children. It was just unfortunate it rained whilst they were in there. Why do you and others want to hang this guy when he has done nothing wrong whatsoever. 

Did you have any freedom as a child or was you lock in an air tight room like Howard Hughes. There's probably more children killed on bicycles than lost in in caves. It was an unforseen happening!

 

How u know he done nothing wrong? u wasn’t even there..Its already wrong of him to make many cave trips with other people their kids especially since he is just the only adult!!!

My son plays football at a football club 2x a week training  then every Saturday a match. luckily we have normal coaches who just train the kids and then they go home and they not trying to be my son and his team mates their excursion friend!

 

I’m sure the coach will beat himself up for the bad decision he did well after the fact stop blame storming 

I tried looking for the articles, but I can't find any after an 11 hour day at work.  However, I did confirm with my wife that the Thai media is reporting that this guy some of you are chastising went in out of concern after being contacted by parents.

4 minutes ago, smileplur said:

I tried looking for the articles, but I can't find any after an 11 hour day at work.  However, I did confirm with my wife that the Thai media is reporting that this guy some of you are chastising went in out of concern after being contacted by parents.

To be honest I get much more accurate news from my Thai gf than TVF

6 minutes ago, Destiny1990 said:

How u know he done nothing wrong? u wasn’t even there..Its already wrong of him to make many cave trips with other people their kids especially since he is just the only adult!!!

My son plays football at a football club 2x a week training  then every Saturday a match. luckily we have normal coaches who just train the kids and then they go home and they not trying to be my son and his team mates their excursion friend!

 

It seems to me that this coach goes the extra mile, so this coach is not normal because he likes to spend time character building, he gives up his own time so he can make these kids better adults. I don't know you, but I suspect your kids have a good life, maybe some of these kids are not so fortunate as your family and he is giving them some hope and enjoyment. I would bet a pound to a pinch of pepper that these kids respect him and would go the extra mile for him.

10 hours ago, keith101 said:

Taking responsibility for his actions in putting them in serious danger in the first place , should never have gone into the cave to start with especially in rainy season .

Stupid answer, if there is one to blame its the government to not close the cave if they knew it was this dangerous, but you know what ? They didn't know it either , maybe you did ???? or also after the facts......

6 minutes ago, Bung said:

I guess then we may have a new MVP. I say they are all heroic but this coach going in was critical in keeping them safe, in a group. Getting them to what turns out to be one of the few dry spots and getting them to drink water only dripping out of the rock. He can coach my kids anytime.

15 minutes ago, Bung said:

If that’s true then it will significantly changes the story..and my opinion.to be continued 

39 minutes ago, Bung said:

Why is there a picture of The Times, an attribution to The Telegraph, and a lack of links to relevant stories in either publication?

Poor judgement isn't a crime if the parents decide they do not want him as their sons coach I can go along with that. If they decide they want him to continue I can go along with that.

 

Hopefully it will make them all stronger people and not weal kneed like a few who post here

 

Why is he suddenly demoted to an 'assistant' coach? All along he's been referred to as 'the coach'. Why suddenly - out of the blue - is he downgraded to  'assistant coach'?

 

Also, if the story that is beginning to circulate on the Internet that he actually was called in by the parents to search for the young footballers is true - then he has been maligned by terribly false news (implying that he rashly led the boys into those caves). But we don't yet know quite what the truth is of this ...

 

1 minute ago, Eligius said:

Why is he suddenly demoted to an 'assistant' coach? All along he's been referred to as the 'coach'. Why suddenly - out of the blue - is he called an 'assistant coach'?

Since the beginning, he has been referred to as the assistant coach.

5 minutes ago, pathologix said:

Since the beginning, he has been referred to as the assistant coach.

You may be right (that he has always been referred to as an 'assistant' coach) - but that was not my impression. In fact, right now I just randomly looked at one of the Thaivisa articles on this matter (the one from yesterday about the boys' being given 4 months' supply of food) and we read this in the opening sentence: 'Twelve boys and their football coach who are trapped in the Tham Luang cave'. He is not referred to as 'their assistant coach'.

 

But you may be correct - I have not checked most of the articles.

3 minutes ago, Eligius said:

You may be right (that he has always been referred to as an 'assistant' coach) - but that was not my impression. In fact, right now I just randomly looked at one of the Thaivisa articles on this matter (the one from yesterday about the boys' being given 4 months' supply of food) and we read this in the opening sentence: 'Twelve boys and their football coach who are trapped in the Tham Luang cave'. He is not referred to as 'their assistant coach'.

 

But you may be correct - I have not checked most of the articles.

random old story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30348832

Just now, pathologix said:

random old story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30348832

You are probably right. However, even in an article (published 13 hours ago about the King wanting the foreign rescuers to be treated as guests) we read:

'Government spokesman Lt-Gen Sansern Kaewkamnerd said Tuesday night that HM King Maha Vajiralongkorn offered his moral support to all who have been involved in assisting the 12 boys and their coach.'

 

So it seems that it is pretty variable. Anyway - you are basically right - that this chap has been referred to as an 'assistant coach' on other occasions.