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Coach suing stadium for runaway golf cart accident

On Dec. 17, 2011, Dekaney High School football coach Alfred "Willie" Amendola was coaching his Wildcats in the 5A Division I state championship game at Cowboys Stadium. After his team won the game (well-done, Coach!), Mr. Amendola was standing at midfield, conducting interviews, when a wayward golf cart bowled him over.

Amendola was knocked into the cart, and rolled it off the field after trying to control it. Apparently, the cart developed a mind of its own after workers who were removing pylons from the field accidentally lodged one in a way that got the cart's accelerator going. Several reporters were also affected by the aggressive cart.

Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt - and as much as this sounds funny on paper, the cart was getting up a head of steam, and this could have been even worse (and weirder) were it not for coach Amendola's quick thinking and lightning reflexes.

Now, Amendola, the father of New England Patriots receiver Danny Amendola, is suing Cowboys Stadium, L.P. in the District Court of Texas. The suit claims "past and future pain and suffering; past and future mental anguish' physical and mental impairment, past and future; disfigurement, past and future; past and future medical expenses; loss of earning capacity; and loss of enjoyment."

This wouldn't be the first time Cowboys Stadium L.P. was involved in a lawsuit, of course -- there was the seating debacle related to Super Bowl XLV, when a group of ticket buyers claimed that they had to watch the game on television because their temporary seats were not installed in time for the game. One of those suits was dismissed last month, which left four plaintiffs unhappy, through another lawsuit involving hundreds more aggrieved parties will go forward in October.

Coach Amendola's son was signed out of Texas Tech by the Cowboys in April of 2008 as an undrafted free agent out of Texas Tech. He was cut later that season, and spent the entire 2008 season on Dallas' practice squad before going on to perform with some distinction for the St. Louis Rams. After the Patriots lost Wes Welker to the Denver Broncos in free agency, New England signed Amendola to a five-year, $28.5 million contract in March.

The elder Amendola is suing the Stadium for an amount exceeding $1 million.