Editor's note: This article has been changed from its printed version to correct the title and affliation of Herb Appenzeller.

It is not rare for a coach to be sued for negligence after a student-athlete suffers an injury or dies. But now, a coach is facing criminal charges related to the death of one of his athletes.

In what's believed to be the first case of its kind, a Kentucky high school football coach has pled not guilty to a reckless homicide charge in the death of a 15-year-old player. According to the Associated Press, sophomore Max Gilpin collapsed during a preseason practice in August 2008 and died three days later of septic shock, multiple organ failure, and heat stroke.

In court filings, witnesses said first-year Pleasure Ridge Park High School Head Coach David Stinson was not providing regular water breaks and told the players they would be doing sprints until someone quit. A second player collapsed at the same 90-degree practice, but recovered fully.

David Stengel, the county attorney, told reporters after Stinson's hearing in January that reckless homicide occurs when "a person fails to perceive a risk that a reasonable person in that situation would have seen" and a death results. "This is not about football, this is not about coaches," he told the Associated Press. "This is about an adult person who was responsible for the health and welfare of a child."

In a separate civil lawsuit filed by Gilpin's parents in January, Stinson and five assistant coaches have been accused of negligence and reckless disregard. And in late February, Gilpin's parents added a sixth assistant coach and Pleasure Ridge Park's principal and athletic director to the suit.

Some community members are standing behind Stinson, who graduated from a nearby high school and played football at the University of Louisville. Until the case is over, Stinson will work at the school district's central office in a non-teaching, non-coaching capacity.

"He will maintain his innocence, and I believe this will be tried in front of a jury where they will hear all of the evidence, including the testimony of Mr. Stinson," one of Stinson's attorneys, Alex Dathorne, told the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Herb Appenzeller, Jefferson-Pilot Professor of Sport Studies Emeritus and former Athletic Director at Guilford College, has written over a dozen books on sports law and risk management. He says that whether or not Stinson is found guilty, the case is a wakeup call for athletic departments. "Coaches who don't give their players water were probably coached that same way, but that day is over," he says. "It's been over, and coaches need to realize their athletes' safety must come first."

He adds that the coach isn't the only one responsible for the safety of student-athletes. "The athletic director should know what's going on with all of his or her teams at all times," Appenzeller says. "Unfortunately, I think a lot of athletic directors don't know what's happening on their own campuses."

In another current court case highlighting the importance of everyone on staff knowing health and safety rules, York College has been sued by three of its former wrestling student-athletes after they allegedly contracted Herpes Simplex 1 (the virus associated with genital herpes and cold sores) at the school's wrestling facility. The suit, filed this past November, claims the head wrestling coach, head athletic trainer, and assistant dean of athletics and recreation acted negligently in not following NCAA guidelines regarding skin infection safety.

The wrestlers allege that members of the team with visible open lesions were kept out of practice for only three days, then returned with bandages covering their lesions. NCAA safety guidelines call for five days of antiviral drug therapy and no participation if active lesions are present. The suit also claims York employees acted negligently by not providing team members with information about confirmed cases of the virus. The wrestlers are seeking at least $50,000 from York.

"Blame rolls uphill," says the wrestlers' attorney, David Avedissian. "It starts with the coach and athletic trainer who were working with the wrestlers on a daily basis. They're the ones who have to make sure the situation is being managed on the front lines. But the administrator also has a duty to make sure the coach and athletic trainer are aware of and are following the rules. That was not the case here."

The college refutes the wrestlers' claims and has vowed to fight the lawsuit. "York College denies that the college or any of its employees engaged in any negligent conduct which caused or contributed to the contraction of skin infections by any of the three former team members who filed suit," York College attorney Paul Minnich said in a statement. "In fact, the college has, at all times, met or exceeded all applicable standards of care."