Shelton, Aaron Ply

September 9, 2008
This is Detective Dan Alpiger, with the Louisville Metro Police Department. Today's date
is September 9, 2008. The current time is 12:19. I'm here in my car with, uh, Aaron DeShawn
Shelton, in the parking lot of Pleasure Ridge Park High School.
Alpiger Mr. Shelton, please state your name, and spell

it for me.
Shelton A-A-R-O-N Aaron. Shelton S-H-E-L-T-O-

N.
Alpiger And your date of birth, Aaron?
Shelton
Alpiger
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger And your address and telephone number?
Shelton x
Alpiger x
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger Okay. And it's actually right down the street

here on, on Greenwood. Is that correct?
Page 2 of 44
Statement: Aaron DeShawn Shelton / Case #08197(A)
Date: September 9, 2008
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger Okay. And you are a student here at, uh, PRP
High School. Is that correct?
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger Okay. What year are you?
Shelton I'm a sophomore.
Alpiger Uh, you're also on the football team?
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger Okay. And that's why we're here. We're here in

relation to this case, file 08197, the death of,
uh, Max Gilpin. And you're aware of that?
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger You're also aware that this tape-recorder is on.

Is that correct?
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, start off, tell me how you know

Max?
Shelton Uh, I knew him through my freshman year

playin', uh, freshman football together here at
PRP High School into our sophomore year,
and, you know, we just had some nice
relationship, a couple talks. And we talked
about stuff and, uh, the weight room and all
type of other stuff.
Alpiger So you played football with 'im…

Page 3 of 44
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger He's a lineman. What position are you?
Shelton I'm fullback, uh, I'm everything. I'm

everything, for real.
Alpiger Everything.
Shelton Play-maker.
Alpiger You're a play-maker.
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger That's what they tell me. They tell me you're

the play-maker. So uh, what position does
Max play?
Shelton Uh, he played defense tackle, but I think his

real position was about to be tight end.
Alpiger Okay.
Shelton …when we got up to be a junior or senior year.
Alpiger So you, you know him as somebody you

played football with from startin' off last year
as a freshman. You came to, to school
together. You didn't know him before this,
though, did you?
Shelton Uh-uh.
Alpiger Okay. You also had classes together?
Shelton No. We ain't had no classes…
Alpiger But you seen 'im in the, in the school?

Page 4 of 44
Shelton Yeah. I seen 'im in the school.
Alpiger And you had, uh, you'd have…
Shelton Conversations.
Alpiger Conversations. You also, well, trained, weight

trained with 'im. You were actually training in
the weight room at the same time he would be,
and you'd had conversations, particularly
about, uh, football.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Right? And just for the record, uh, Aaron and I
did talk briefly before I turned the tape-
recorder on, and Aaron relayed some of this
information to me. Aaron, you were tellin' me
that you felt Max, uh, to be a very big, strong,
uh, athletic person with a lot of potential.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Is that correct?
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger And, and what did you say about him as, as
maybe a football player?
Shelton I said he could have been one, one of the

best… He could 'ave been one of the best
things comin' out of PRP High School.
Alpiger So he had a lot of potential.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Page 5 of 44
Alpiger And you said he lacked, uh… You, you said he

lacked somethin'. What was it? How did you
explain it to me?
Shelton Uh, uh, that, uh, he didn't let the animal come
out of ‘im.
Alpiger Yeah.
Shelton Yeah. I mean, I told 'im he needed to let the

animal come out of 'im, he could be all-
American tight end. So I just told…
Alpiger You just… He wasn't as aggressive as you

thought he could be?
Shelton He wasn't, he wasn't as aggressive as I thought

he could be, but he was still a pretty good
player, but he could 'ave… As big as he is,
and, how strong he is, he can really, he can
really do some damage out there on the field.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, I want to start off with how practice

begins. How you, uh, what, I guess what time,
what day did pre-season practice begin?
Shelton Pre-season. Uh, uh, it started in the summer.
Alpiger Okay.
Shelton You talkin' about like…
Alpiger Yeah. When you…
Shelton …trainin'…
Alpiger Yeah.
Shelton Like conditionin', for real.

Page 6 of 44
Alpiger Yeah.
Shelton Okay. It started in the summer, uh, I'd say in,

I'd say right, probably in the, like the beginning
of… Well, probably… I can't say beginnin' or
the middle of summer. It as one of them.
'Cause we had went to camp and all that other
stuff.
Alpiger Okay. And that, that's one of the things I'm

getting to. Other guys mentioned goin' to
camp. Do you recall when that was?
Shelton I can't tell you when it was, but it was, it was

like a week before school had started; I can say
'at, though. It was like a week before school
started 'cause I remember I was tryin' to get me
a haircut and stuff before school started and all
that.
Alpiger Did you actually have practices before then?
Shelton Uh, yeah. Uh, but it wasn't like with

equipment or nothin'. We just had like
basically conditioning…
Alpiger Yeah.
Shelton …and liftin' weights and runnin' on the track

and goin' over a couple plays.
Alpiger Okay. So when did school start?
Shelton Uh, September the 12th, I think.
Alpiger September?
Shelton I mean, uh, August the 12th.

Page 7 of 44
Alpiger Okay. Is that… You see the calendar I'm

pointin' to here?
Shelton Uh, yeah. I'm lookin' at…
Alpiger Does that look right?
Shelton Yeah. That was August the 12th.
Alpiger So a week before school, you were in camp,

and, and, if I'm not mistaken, that's in
Georgetown…
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …College? Pretty much the whole team went?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Uh…
Shelton Well, most of the, uh, uh, juniors, and… I

mean, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. No
freshmen, for real. Unless they wanted to.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, and how many days of camp was

it?
Shelton Uh, I think three days. Three, three or four

days. It was, I think it was three.
Alpiger Okay. And then you come back. Once you get
back camp, then you start your regular
practice…
Shelton Practice. Yeah.
Alpiger In full equipment?

Page 8 of 44
Shelton Full, yeah. Full equipment.
Alpiger And then school starts on, around the 12th of

August?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Okay. And, uh, real quick, what's a typical day

of practice consist of?
Shelton Uh, like what we do?
Alpiger Yeah.
Shelton Uh, I'd say we, uh, sometimes… Well, it

depends on what days. We'll go and we'll lift
weights first or either we'll just go ahead and
go out on the field. And, uh, then, uh, we'll do
our li'le team… We'll, we'll do, we'll stretch
first, then do our li'le team take-off for offense
and defenses, on each side, and, uh, then we'll
break it down, offense break it down, then
defense break it down. Then we'll go and we'll
do, uh, individuals with like runnin' backs and
line backers and like 'at. And then I'd say after
that, uh, we'll do, uh, I'd say we'll… You want
me do it with the water breaks, too? Tell you
about the water breaks?
Alpiger Yeah. If you, if you feel that's import…
Shelton Okay. Uh, we'll, uh… We do team take-offs.

We'll do team take-offs, and then I'd say we get
water after team take-offs. Then we'll come
back into individuals. And then we would do,
we'll get water after that. Then we'll come
back, and on seven-on-seven. That’s what we
do, that exactly what we’ll do. Yeah. 'Cause
Page 9 of 44
we'll get two, we'll get basically two water

breaks before we'll do, after we come back
from that, we'll do seven-on-seven. Uh, uh, it
depends… We'll do, uh…butt up or either
tackle, well, yeah. After that, yeah.
Alpiger Okay. Then, after seven-on-seven, what's,

what…
Shelton Uh, after seven-on-seven, we will, we'll

probably… It depends on how long, well,
what day… Sometimes we'll stop a li'le early
so we can go over a li'le, couple special teams,
uh, specialties, or, uh, uh, or we'll, uh, just do
seven-on-seven, then get some water and then,
uh, come back and, uh, come back and run.
Alpiger And run, is that what, uh, what you call

conditioning?
Shelton Conditioning.
Alpiger And running is what? Do you run laps around

the field?
Shelton Oh. We do gassers. Up back, up… Up back;

up back. That's one.
Alpiger Okay. Okay. Uh, I wanta bring you back to

the day that, bring you up to the day that Max
fell out. Do you recall what day that was?
And if this calendar helps, feel free to look at
the calendar.
Shelton Uh, I couldn't say what day it was he collapsed,

uh, I 'on't remember what day, but I know
e'erything that happened that day.
Alpiger Okay. Do you know… Today is the 9 th. Do

Page 10 of 44
you know how, how long ago it was this

happened?
Shelton Uh,, it's been 'bout, uh, I'd say… Let's see. I
know we played Valley. I'd say it's been about
two weeks. Two, two or two and a half weeks.
Alpiger Okay. Okay. So we're talkin' some part in

later August?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Okay. And, and we know the day. I'm just

tryin' to get you to refresh your memory…
Shelton Okay.
Alpiger …as to what time it happened.
Shelton Okay.
Alpiger Uh, uh, tell me about that day. Everything that

happened, you know, how, what practice, well,
how did you, what you did before practice,
then the, the practice, and from then on.
Shelton Uh…
Alpiger What you recall from the day that…
Shelton School let out, and, uh, I was up here up in

front at first for a little bit. I usually, you
know, after school, I usually just walk around a
li'le bit and talk to e'erybody. Then we'll go…
We gotta be in the locker room by 2:45. Then,
uh, I, I go to locker room. Then look at the
little schedule, what we gonna do today. Uh,
the li'le list what we gonna do. Are we gonna,
run plays. Are we goin' out in full pads or
Page 11 of 44
what. And, uh…
Alpiger So that's posted somewhere in the locker

room?
Shelton Yeah. It's posted as soon as you walk in. Keep

goin' straight up that wall. It'd be…
Alpiger Tells you whether you're gonna get dressed out,

or whether you're gonna start liftin' weights?
Shelton Yeah. It tells you, uh, it tells you if you gonna

lift weights or if you gonna, uh, are we gonna
go full gear, uh, what we doin', and it tells you
what we doin' like durin' practice, individuals
or how we doin' it. And, uh, I went in there
and, uh, we lift weights first that day. We lift
weights. And then I had went back in the
locker room, put my gear on. Then we had
came outside to the, uh, practice field. And
then we, uh, warmed up. We stretched and all
that. And then we, uh, went for, uh, team take-
offs. After team take-offs, we had got water.
Then we came back. Then we went to
individuals. After individuals, we went and,
uh, yeah. After individuals, we went and got
water. And it was seven-on-seven. No, it was,
it was either seven-on-seven or all of us
scrimmage. Either one of 'em. It was one of
'em. And, uh…
Alpiger Seven-on-seven is just a mini scrimmage?
Shelton Yeah…
Alpiger You all…
Shelton … basically passing, no linemen, just passing.

Page 12 of 44
Alpiger Just, uh…
Shelton …'at's all we gonna do is pass the ball. And,

uh…
Alpiger Offense and defense, but no linemen?
Shelton Yeah. Offense and defense, but no line. And

we was comin' back from getting' some water,
and, uh, Coach didn't like how we was walkin'
back from getting' the water. Like we was
walkin' around. We weren't bouncin' around.
So, uh, he was like, "Okay. Y'all don't wanta,
y'all don't wanta bounce around, we gonna do
some runnin' since y'all don't wanta bounce
around." So, uh, we…
Alpiger Is that the terminology he uses, "bounced

around?"
Shelton Yeah. Bounce around. That's what, that's what

they was sayin' at the time. 'Cause e'ery time
we…
Alpiger Did you hear him say it?
Shelton Yes sir. E'erybody, all the coaches say, "Come

on. Let's bounce around." They say it today."
Let's bounce, let's bounce around a li'le bit."
Alpiger And, and that to you means what?
Shelton Just, uh, like run a little bit, you know…
Alpiger Kind of hustle.
Shelton …Just jog. Yeah. Hustle over 'ere. They don't

want you just walkin' over there and back…
Page 13 of 44
Alpiger Draggin' feet?
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger Okay.
Shelton And, uh, so we just, we, uh, bounced around,

or whatever. Well, we… Well, I was bouncin'
around after I heard 'im say it, but it was still
people from getting' water, and, uh, they was
just barely walkin', walkin' back, or whatever.
And, uh, so he was like, "If y'all ain't going to
bounce around, y'all, we’re gonna run a li'le
bit." So then, when he got on line… I say we
ran like… I'd say we ran 'bout three or four,
then the coach that was tellin' the other
coaches… He was sittin' right there in the
middle of the field, and…
Alpiger Who, who's that?
Shelton Coach Stenson. He was sittin' in the middle of

the field, like on the knee. He was, uh, he was,
he was tellin' the other coaches… They was on
the, on the line of the other side of the field
tryin' to make sure when we run, we touch the
lines. So, uh, he had told them, the other
coaches, that, uh, they probably wanta go
ahead and go home 'cause we gonna be runnin'
for a li'le minute. So…
Alpiger So… Okay. Stinton, Stinton told the other

coaches that it's obvious we're gonna be here
for awhile. Go on home if you want to.
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger I wanta make sure I'm understandin' the way,

what you're sayin'.
Page 14 of 44
Shelton That's what he said.
Alpiger Okay.
Shelton So, uh…
Alpiger And why, why do you think he said that?
Shelton, Uh, just because we didn't bounce around.
Alpiger 'Cause he didn't think that you guys were, as a

team, the team was, uh, as energetic as he
wanted 'em to be. There was… Was he tryin'
to motivate people to start bouncin' around?
Shelton Uh, I think he was, he was, uh, he, he, just like
how you said, just like you said, he was tryin'
to get the… He was tired of… I think he…
Some coaches, you know how they just, just
don't feel, feel like, uh, botherin' with all this
and sayin' to much. "Y'all won't bounce
around, then we gonna do this." Or sometimes
on a good day, he might say, "Uh, y'all need to
start bouncin' around or we gonna end up
runnin'." But I guess that day, he just didn't,
didn't feel like bein' bothered or keep sayin',
when he's repeatin' himself.
Alpiger He apparently was aggravated.
Shelton Yeah. Basically, he was agg'… Uh, and I ain't

gonna lie, I was kind of aggravated, too, 'cause
I don't like to see a whole bunch of walkin'
around, too. And, uh, and, uh, I… And then,
we had ran like three or four of 'em, and he
told the coaches to, that they should, they
probably wanta go ahead and go home 'cause
we gonna be runnin' for a minute.
Page 15 of 44
Alpiger And when you say runnin', you're talkin' about

gassers?
Shelton Gassers. Yeah.
Alpiger Okay.
Shelton And I'd say we already ran 'about three or four

of 'em at that time. And then I knew that we
was gonna be 'ere for a long time. Then, uh, so
then, we, uh, so then, uh, we kept on runnin'.
I'd say we ran a good 25, 30 gassers, and that's
up back; up back, one. So I'd say we ran a
good 25 or 30 of those. And then, uh, I can say
right now, I was the last person on every one
'cause, I mean, I know, uh, I know when I'm
tired and I can't go no more. I mean, I might
go, I'm goin' my… I'm, I'm, I'm goin; I'm not
gonna, I ain't gonna quit or nothin' like 'at, but
I'm goin'…
Alpiger You're not goin' as, as…
Shelton Yeah. I'm not gonna go a hundred percent

'cause I know how much we runnin'. And we
runnin' so many, you go a hundred percent,
you, you gonna probably collapse. 'Cause how
many times we done ran? And, uh, I can say
he, he gave, he, uh, he had sent like a couple
people home. Like, like go ahead and sit down
'cause they was runnin' hard. But one of our
seniors, the one, the other one who collapsed,
he…
Alpiger Who's that?
Shelton Uh, Calloway.

Page 16 of 44
Alpiger Okay.
Shelton He had, uh, he was like the first one on all of

'em, I can say, 'cause that's just him. He's, he's
a track guy, and he's, he's just, that's just him.
He's gonna be first on every time we ran, every
practice. That wasn't just then, he's, he's gonna
run like 'at. And, uh, I'd say he was the first
person on every one. And then… But he
didn't…
Alpiger Until he got sick?
Shelton Yeah. Until he got sick. But he, he still had

sent like five, I'd say about like five guys, five
guys, already told 'em to go ahead and sit up
under the tree, 'cause they was runnin' hard.
And I guess he seen that they was runnin' hard,
"Okay, y'all can go ahead and…"
Alpiger Okay. I wanta slow down just a minute.

Gassers?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Gassers, uh, if I, explain… Make sure I'm

understandin' this. Gassers are where you’re
on the side line…
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Coach Stinton in the middle on one knee

watchin'.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger You're on the sideline. You would run from

one… And is the whole team lined up?
Page 17 of 44
Shelton Uh, yes. The whole team is lined up. But it's
like the big guys and the li'le guys. The li'le
guys run first, then the big guys 'ill run.
Alpiger So you got groups of people?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger So you, half the team lined up. You run, to the
opposite sideline.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …Bend over, touch the sideline.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger And at that point, you got, your coaches are

standin' there watchin', make sure you're
touchin', you're goin' all the way. You don't
shortcut, you're not, uh, cuttin' corners.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger You come back, touch the side line…
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …where you started. Go back, touch the

sideline at the opposite end again…
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger …and then come back. So you do that four

times.
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger And then when you come back, the next group
Page 18 of 44
goes.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger And how many groups are there?
Shelton Two.
Alpiger Okay. So while… If you're in the first group,

when you come back, do you get to rest while
the second group's doin' their's?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger So you get… Uh, what group are you in?
Shelton I'm with the li'le guys.
Alpiger With the little guys. You say little guys, do

you…
Shelton The running backs and backs.
Alpiger Uh, while you guys are doin' this, Coach

Stinton is pickin' out a person every now and
then, sayin', "Okay. Uh, you're hustlin'. Go
take a break."
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger You're hustlin'. Go take a break. So he'll pick

out four or five guys.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …that he…
Shelton He picked out like four guys.

Page 19 of 44
Alpiger Four guys and let them…
Shelton Four or five guys. Yeah.
Alpiger Uh, did he let them go get water or just go

stand under the tree?
Shelton I mean, if they wanted to, 'cause we was

runnin', so if they wanted to, they could 'ave
went and got water if they really wanted to.
Alpiger Okay. So four or five guys, or four guys that

were standin' under the tree while everybody is
still runnin'.
Shelton Right.
Alpiger Uh, again, you're taking a break while the other

team, while the other half of the team is
running, and then vice versa; when you're
runnin', they're taking a break.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Uh, so it's not constant runnin' for this whole

time?
Shelton No. It's not constant…
Alpiger But it is still very hard?
Shelton Yeah. It's still very hard though…
Alpiger And you were tellin' me also that you were

very close to your limits.
Shelton Yeah. I was close.
Alpiger You're generally a pretty fast, pretty up-beat…

Page 20 of 44
Shelton Yeah. I'm, I'm, I'm one of the fastest persons

on this, on this team. But I, I know when I
can… I know when I can run and when, uh,
when I'm tired and I'm just goin'… And I
know just, I just know how my body is. I
know when I'm not just gonna keep runnin' all
my full strength. I'm just gonna probably jog a
li'le bit and still get done with it, though. I'm
just gonna jog, and that's still hard just 'cause
how many we'd been runnin'.
Alpiger Uh, these gassers, did you guys do any other

kind of conditioning work that day?
Shelton Well, uh…
Alpiger The gassers pretty much started, if I'm not

mistaken, started because he thought people
were coming back from the water fountain to
slow?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Not, not showin' a lot of enthusiasm comin'

back…
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …from the water fountain. Right? Uh, so he

said, "Okay. That's the way you guys wanta
be…" And I'm not sayin' exactly what he's
sayin', but this…
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger …is the kind of attitude that I feel that I'm

getting'.
Page 21 of 44
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger "That's the way you guys wanta be, we're just
gonna start runnin'."
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger And then, from that point, you guys start

runnin' gassers.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Uh, and he's still frustrated…
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …thinkin'… And then sayin' this, not

necessarily sayin' anything other than "Well, I
can tell we're gonna be here for awhile. You
guys might as well go on home."
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Tellin' the other coaches that, because it's

apparent that he's frustrated with the
enthusiasm the team has got…
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …at this point. What was the temperature like

that day?
Shelton Uh, it was hot. My whole shirt was wet.
Alpiger Uh, while you're runnin' these gassers, are you

runnin' it in full gear?
Shelton Yes. We was until we had ran a couple… We

had ran… Well, after we had ran like, I'd say
Page 22 of 44
probably 20, 25, he was like, uh, take off your,

uh, helmets. Then we took off our helmets.
Then we had probably ran like, uh, uh, we had
probably ran like two more gassers, and then
he, uh, told us take off our shoulder pads. And
we had took off our shoulder pads…
Alpiger So he's lightenin' it up a little bit.
Shelton Yeah. He was lightenin' it up by, as we go, but

we was still runnin' with our gear, so…
Alpiger When you say 20 to 25, are you talkin' about

20 to 25 that you ran, or 25 that the team ran?
Shelton That the team ran.
Alpiger Are you sayin' the slow the fast, the, the small
people, little people ran 20 to 25, and then the
big people ran 20, 25, or the little people ran…
Shelton They ran just the same as us, for real. They ran
the same as us because it's still the same thing
'cause…
Alpiger Okay. I guess my point is, you are countin'

how many you ran as a personally?
Shelton Well, everybody ran…
Alpiger Okay.
Shelton …I wasn't just…
Alpiger So everybody ran the same. Everybody ran 20

to 25.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Page 23 of 44
Alpiger Okay. Uh, how long… Was this a typical day?

Do you feel like this is a typical practice, or is
there somethin' about this practice made it
seem not typical? I mean, we obviously know
that once Calloway and, uh, and Max fell out,
that it's no longer typical.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger But is this a typical day, or is this practice,

uh…
Shelton Like typical, like…
Alpiger More…
Shelton …everyday?
Alpiger …more extenu'… Uh, more strenuous than

any other practice? Has this been, is this a
typical practice, or is there somethin' wrong
with this… Does this practice seem more,
harder, I guess?
Shelton It was a typ'… It was the same practice until

we was doin' all the runnin'. We had never
done all that runnin'. Like I say, it was, it was
the same practice…
Alpiger You'd done gassers before.
Shelton Yeah. We'd done gassers. Before then, our

gassers were just four of 'em. And then if we
ran that whole four good, then practice is over
for good. We usually just do four gassers.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, but this practice, you done at least

20 to 25 before you started taking off your
gear?
Page 24 of 44
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger And then when you started taking off your

gear, you start lightenin' up, you'll do two
more, you'll take off your helmet, you do two
or three more or three ore, take off your
shoulder pads, your jersey, do a couple more?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Uh, at what point was it where Calloway fell

out?
Shelton He…
Alpiger …Were they…
Shelton …He had already took off his helmet and his
shoulder pads.
Alpiger So towards the end.
Shelton It was toward, yeah, towards the end. But we

was still, we still had to run a couple, plenty
before he had, before he even… He passed
out, and then we still ran I'd say probably…
Alpiger So after Calloway passed out and a couple

guys helped him over to the side….
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Uh, you guys are still running?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger How long after that did, uh, Max fall out?
Page 25 of 44
Shelton He fell out like, uh, he fell out at like the, I'd
say like at the end, end. 'Cause, uh, I had
seen’t him, when we had, he'd, uh, when we
had walked down, when we had walked, and
after we had been doin' all the runnin', I had
walked, and then I had seen’t him on the
ground. I had seen’t him on the ground, and,
uh, soon as he had hit the ground, uh, some,
some other coaches had, uh, went up, and a
couple people who was watchin' us practice,
like, uh, I think it was probably some parents,
the parents that usually come and watch us
practice sometimes. And, uh, they had kind of
went over 'ere and tried to put a li'le water on
'im and, uh, put a li'le water in his mouth.
Then they seen that he was kind of
unconscious, they, uh, helped put 'im on this
li'le green thing like people have, like when
people get hurt on the field or like their legs
broke, they gotta come and get them off the
field. They came and got him off that and
uh…
Alpiger This is a motorized, uh, golf cart like thing?
Shelton Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And, uh, put 'im on that

and, uh, and went to the water, went to the
water where we get water at and, uh, put,
started puttin' water all on his body and all 'at.
And, uh, then that’s it… That's the last time I
seen 'im.
Alpiger Did eventually somebody call for an

ambulance?
Shelton Uh, yes. I, uh, I had stayed a li'le bit after

practice because I couldn't find my equipment.
When we was taking our shoulder, uh, uh,
helmets and shoulder pads off, somebody had
Page 26 of 44
grabbed my equipment by mistake. So I was

lookin' around for my equipment, and, uh, I
had, I was standin' over 'ere, and I was, I was
lookin'… I was kind of, I went over there, and
I was seein' how he was doin'. I could hear 'im
kind of like, like wheezin' a little bit. But he…
Alpiger Was this over by the water fountain, then?
Shelton Uh-huh. And, uh, they was steadily puttin'

water all on 'im and stuff, and like tryin' to
open his eyeballs see if he was, up or,
unconscious or not. I think he was probably
unconscious. But he was still like wheezing,
but, uh, probably kind of like hard for him to
breathe. And, uh, then I had walked back over
to the locker room. I didn't never even get to
see if the am', when the ambulance came, and,
uh, I didn't really get to see that part.
Alpiger Okay. How long do you thick it was before

Max fell out and you went back to the locker
room?
Shelton Uh, I'd say it was probably about… Uh, I'd say
probably by the time when I get to the practice
field to the locker room, I'd say it takes me like
three, probably like three, four minutes. Three
or four minutes.
Alpiger So we're not talkin' a half hour before an

ambulance got there, anything like that?
Shelton No. I, I didn't even get to see when the

ambulance got there. So I don't even know.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, that explains a lot. During… I'm

gonna ask you a few of these questions off of
here and this can be real quick. Uh, when you
Page 27 of 44
take a water break and the coaches give you a

water break, is that like okay, the whole team
goes up there at one time, or Demetrius, or
Aaron, you go?"
Shelton Uh, uh, it depends on like if we in individuals,

my group 'ill go; and like whenever the other,
the other group 'ill go, 'ats when their… I
mean, they know when it's the water break
time, but if they, if they ain't got done doin'
they drill yet, then they'll go. 'Cause…
Alpiger So usually…
Shelton ...we'll get back to seven-on-seven, and stuff

like that.
Alpiger So it kind of does…. At that point it's kind of

in a stage where each person does it in a stage
so not everybody's up there at one time?
Shelton No, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Alpiger So they can continue to keep workin' until

your, your turn comes up…
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, but it's not, it's not like any time
during the drills, uh, "Aaron, that was a hell of
a good play. Go get you a drink of water?"
Shelton Uh-uh.
Alpiger Do you, not, not by yourself. Well, let me ask

you this. What if, uh… Alright. I'm gonna go
back to… You… It's usually a team or group
effort goes up and gets water when you're
relieved?
Page 28 of 44
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger How many times do you think you got, were

able to get water that day?
Shelton That day, I got two waters before we ran.
Alpiger Okay. And after you, you're, after you got a

drink of water the last time, that's when you
guys started the gassers?
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger Okay. And you're runnin' the gassers because

he thought you guys were comin' back from
uh, the water break a little slow?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Not enough enthusiasm. Uh, you think, uh…

and you do think that typically, in a typical
practice, you may run four gassers. This time
you ran at least 20, maybe more?
Shelton I'd say 25 or 30.
Alpiger 25 to 30 gassers? So you would, this was ex'

quite a bit more than the normal day?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Okay. Has he ever done that before, made you

run 25 to 30 gassers?
Shelton No.
Alpiger This is the first time it's ever been like that?
Page 29 of 44
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Have you ever known, during any of your

practices, uh, somebody come up to the coach
and say, "Coach, I need to take a break. I need
to go get a drink," and…
Shelton He'll let you.
Alpiger He'll say, "Okay, go get one and come back."

He won't say, "No. Wait 'til everybody goes?"
Shelton Nah. Any time I done asked, he done let me.
Alpiger Does that happen very often?
Shelton What? To ask him and he'll let me?
Alpiger Yeah.
Shelton Yeah. I mean, he'll let anybody. If you, if you

just say, "Coach, can I go get some water?"
He'll say, "Alright. Hurry back."
Alpiger What if he were particularly frustrated on a

particular day? Would he still say, "Go get one
and come back?"
Shelton Uh, uh, I ain't really never asked 'im when

like…
Alpiger You know better, don’t you?
Shelton I mean…
Alpiger When he's frustrated, you no better than try to

push it, don't you?
Shelton I mean, I 'on't… I 'on't know. I just… Well,

Page 30 of 44
when he's frustrated, I just stay out of his way,

period. I don't know, wanta get (inaudible).
Alpiger Is, is he the coach that you go to if you wanted

somethin'? Stin'…
Shelton Like water?
Alpiger Yeah.
Shelton I mean, you can ask any of the coaches.

They'll say yes.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, have you ever heard of… So you

know, uh, Max fell out during, during the
gassers.
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger Anybody else?
Shelton No. Just him and the dude, Calloway.
Alpiger Calloway. Uh, and we talked about him, didn't

we?
Shelton Calloway?
Alpiger Yeah.
Shelton Yeah. I mean…
Alpiger Yeah. 'Cause you said he was one of the fastest

ones, and he even fell out.
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger He's one of the more, more, uh, energetic, more

enthusiastic. Uh, anybody else?
Page 31 of 44
Shelton Uh-uh.
Alpiger I know when I was a kid, when I played

football, we'd get, we had somethin' similar to
that. We called 'em bloody guts. I don't know
if you've heard of that.
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger You run, hit a line, run back and forth…
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger …and you're touchin'… And our coaches will

do it typically 'cause somebody threw up.
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger Did anybody… You know if anybody threw

up?
Shelton Yeah. Yeah. A couple of people did. Uh…
Alpiger That day?
Shelton Yeah. They threw up. Uh, I knew that.
Alpiger Who was that?
Shelton Uh, I'd say, uh, Duff, one of our linemen, one
of our starting center. He was throwin' up. I
seen’t him throw up. And, uh…
Alpiger Duff?
Shelton Yes.
Alpiger Okay.
Page 32 of 44
Shelton He, uh, I seen’t him throw up. It was…
Alpiger It…
Shelton …it was a couple people who threw up. Uh…
Alpiger And this was during gassers?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Did you?
Shelton No sir.
Alpiger What about, uh, previous, uh, practices? Has

anybody gotten sick in previous practices?
Shelton Nah. Uh-uh.
Alpiger Has anybody gotten so fed up that they just

walk off. Say "I can't do this anymore. I quit"
and just walk off?
Shelton Uh, one of the guys, they did, uh, quit like 'at,
uh, when we was doin' all that. 'Cause, uh, he,
uh, Coach was sayin', "We just need somebody
to quit. We just need somebody to quit," for us
to stop runnin'." He was sayin', "We need…"
Alpiger So it wasn't like "We're gonna keep doin' this

'til somebody throws up." "We're gonna keep
doin' this 'til somebody quits."
Shelton Yeah. And his li'le brother…
Alpiger Who quit?
Shelton Uh, David Ingle.

Page 33 of 44
Alpiger So he quit?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Did anybody else quit?
Shelton I think it was just him and his li'le brother.
Alpiger Oh, his brother quit, too?
Shelton Yeah. Like he followed 'im, so I guess he quit,

too.
Alpiger Okay. But he's back on the team.
Shelton Yeah. Both of 'em's back on the team.
Alpiger So David pretty much sacrificed himself to

keep the team from having to keep running?
Shelton Uh…
Alpiger Or do you think he was just…
Shelton He was just, uh…
Alpiger …Or you think everybody was getting' ready

to quit?
Shelton No. 'Cause, 'cause we was, uh, we had been…

None of us… We'd been runnin', or whatever,
and, uh, we were… I told you, ‘member, I was
last, and, uh, couple other guys was last, too,
so then he was like, "This group right here just
start choppin' 'em." That's like, uh, movin'
your feet; then when he blow the whistle, hit
your stomach and pop back up. So we got…
Page 34 of 44
Alpiger We did that when I was a kid, too. And I can't

remember what we called it. But you're pretty
much just runnin' in place as fast as you can…
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger …when the whistle blows, bounce down on

your stomach, bounce back up, and, and start
runnin'.
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger Runnin' in place. Okay.
Shelton And…
Alpiger So you had to do that?
Shelton Yeah. I did.
Alpiger You and how many other people?
Shelton Uh, I'd say it was probably like, I'd say it was
probably like six or seven people. Yeah, I'd
say… I'd say it was probably about six, seven,
or eight of us.
Alpiger Couple, about eight of you that they felt were

still slackin' a little bit?
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger Okay. And you generally are not a slacker?
Shelton No.
Alpiger What you're tellin' me, you're…
Shelton I'm not a slacker.

Page 35 of 44
Alpiger But for some reason, this day, you were? Or

they thought you were?
Shelton Well…
Alpiger Were you…
Shelton They…
Alpiger …fatigued? Were you just at your… Were

you at your limit, or were you just kind of…
Shelton I was just, I was just really at my limit. Uh, I

couldn't run. I couldn't run full speed all them
times. I couldn't.
Alpiger Okay. So you were… It's not typical of you to

be one of the ones singled out to make, to do
these…
Shelton Uh, I don't never do up-downs.
Alpiger Up-downs? Okay. Uh, since this has

happened, I know that your coaches and, uh,
the staff and everybody's had, uh, meetings
with the team. I don't know if it's during
practice or outside of practice. I don't know
how it is. But I know that they've had, that,
that they have talked to you, and they've
probably counseled you and told you this is a,
uh, tragic event and all that kind of stuff…
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …and if you need anything, come see us. Is

that correct?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Page 36 of 44
Alpiger Okay. Is that happened very often?
Shelton Uh, what? Like them sayin' that?
Alpiger Yeah.
Shelton Uh…
Alpiger Like tryin' to…
Shelton Like they don't really… Really don't, uh…
Alpiger They're tryin' to keep you informed as to what's

happened. 'Cause Max didn't die right away.
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger So when you come back Thursday, or Friday…
Shelton Yeah. But, yeah. They… Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

'Cause they did tell us and we had met, had a
li'le meetin'… 'Cause we was supposed to
have a scrimmage. So we had a li'le meetin'
before we had left that day. Told us what was
goin' on. We had prayed, and all that, for Max
and Calloway. And, uh, they told us the game
was cancelled, and, and…
Alpiger Uh, after Max has died, you, it's over the
weekend. You guys come back to school. Did
you guys go to the funeral?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger The, the whole team did?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Page 37 of 44
Alpiger Or most of 'em, for the most part? Uh, you

also knew at some point that the media has
gotten hold of it and has either made a big
mess out of it or however you wanta look at it.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Has the coaches or staff or anybody talked to

you about that?
Shelton Uh, yeah. They have.
Alpiger Okay. What kind of, what are they discussin'

when you say that?
Shelton They just told us if the media come up, just

don't talk to 'em.
Alpiger Okay. What about us? The Police

Department?
Shelton Uh, what like, like talkin' to, y’all talkin' to us

now?
Alpiger Yeah.
Shelton Oh. They told us just tell the truth now.
Alpiger Okay. They, they haven't tried to tell you…
Shelton Just like the news and people, don't talk to 'em
and that was like at the time when all that that's
was goin' on.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, has anybody tried to tell you what

to tell us and what not to say?
Shelton Uh-uh.
Page 38 of 44
Alpiger They haven't tried to say, uh, "Make sure you

tell 'em, make sure you tell 'em you'd gotten
water any time you wanted water. Make sure
you told 'em that, uh…" You can open that up
if you want. It's closed. It's, uh, like that.
"Make sure you don't tell 'em this. Don't tell
'em that. Make sure you tell 'em that they…"
Anybody try to influence what you're gonna
tell us?
Shelton Uh-uh.
Alpiger They pretty much just said, "Tell the truth?"
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Okay. And did you tell me the truth?
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger Is everything you've told me the truth?
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger Okay. Is there anything that we need to talk

about before I turn this off? You think…
Shelton Uh…
Alpiger …we've covered everything?
Shelton Uh, not, that, uh, when the lady, like the lady
on the news, when she was talkin', she was
like, uh, that, uh, he denied us water and stuff.
I'd say she was talkin' about, uh, after the, uh,
after the, we was runnin' and stuff. It was like
five guys, like me and some other guys, we had
walked over and, uh, got some water; and, uh, I
wouldn't say that like he was denying us water,
Page 39 of 44
but he was, he was mad that, uh, he was mad

that, uh, that we had just, I guess, we had left
the team, or whatever. But, uh…
Alpiger That you walked away from everybody else?
Shelton I mean, we didn't like walk away 'cause we

was done runnin'. Practice was over. But we
was havin' like a li'le meetin' over there, but we
had, e'erybody to gather up right then and
there, and they had, we had just jogged over a
li'le bit and got some water before we had had
the li'le talk with, before we had, uh, went to
the locker room and stuff.
Alpiger Okay. I didn't see the news. So there was

somebody in the news that said that somebody
tried to go get a drink of water, and the coaches
told 'em not to? They couldn't have the water?
Shelton Yeah. I wouldn't, I wouldn't say that he was

denying us water…
Alpiger But that's what they said on the news?
Shelton Yes. That's what they said on the news.
Alpiger Okay. But so there is somethin' that happened

that may 'ave gave that perception.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger You and four other guys were walkin' towards

the water fountain, and Coach called you back?
Shelton Yeah. Well, he had walked over 'ere and he

was like, uh, that, "You guys, uh, you guys, uh,
walked away from the team. Bunch of
cowards. Uh, y'all shouldn't be doin' that."
Page 40 of 44
Alpiger Is this after Max has already fallen out?
Shelton He had already fell out.
Alpiger Okay.
Shelton He was on the field.
Alpiger Okay. What do you feel about your coaches?
Shelton Uh, uh …Uh,
Alpiger You, I mean, uh…
Shelton They, they, they are some good coaches. I

mean, being a football player and have a good
team, you, you gotta have a good coach, and
coaches pushin' you and, you know. I mean,
sometimes you gotta know the limit to the how,
when to push a kid. And, uh, I mean, I like
coaches that's gonna push us, 'cause they want
the best out of us, and if you don't push a kid,
you not gonna have no good group of kids. So,
I mean, I can say I like 'at. They all some, are
good coaches. You can talk to 'em. You can go
up and talk to 'em, I think I can, about
anything. But I 'on't… It… I mean, ‘ems
some good coaches. You just gotta know how
much to push 'em to their limit.
Alpiger Okay. You… Do you feel like, uh, on this day

a couple weeks ago, that too many kids were
pushed beyond their limit?
Shelton Yeah.
Alpiger Do you think that, you think it was, uh, a little

excessive?
Page 41 of 44
Shelton Uh, I 'on't know what excessive means.
Alpiger Uh, to much?
Shelton Uh, yeah.
Alpiger Did to much running, to much work?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Work to hard?
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, but generally, your coaches are…

Uh, you, you understand the need that, uh,
coaches, in order to get a successful team, they
have to push people. Right? That's what you
were tellin' me.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger I'm tryin' to put it in words that, uh, I can

understand, make sure that I understand it
correctly.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger You understand the need, and you appreciate

coaches that do push.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger But you, you also feel that a coach needs to

understand the limits of the athletes and when
to stop.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Page 42 of 44
Alpiger Is that what, pretty much what you were tryin'

to say?
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, is anything else that we can…

Okay. Coaches need to understand the limits
of athletes, need to realize what kind of signs
there are that these kids might be being pushed
to hard…
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …and ease up.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Uh, and you feel that, uh, on this particular

day, the coaches may 'ave overlooked that…
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …some of those signs, that you felt that some

of the kids were being pushed to hard.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger Uh, you included. I think you feel like you

were being pushed… I don't know, I'm not
sayin' you were being pushed to hard, but you
had gotten to the point to where, to where you
had reached the end of your limits.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Alpiger …and they still continued to push.
Shelton Uh-huh.
Page 43 of 44
Alpiger Okay. Uh, anything else?
Shelton Uh, No sir.
Alpiger Uh, is everything you've told me the truth to

the best of your knowledge?
Shelton Yes sir.
Alpiger And nothin' anybody said or, uh, has done to

you has influenced some of your, things that
you said?
Shelton Uh-uh.
Alpiger Uh, nobody's tried to tell you to make sure you

say this, make sure you don't say this whether
it's the truth or not?
Shelton Uh-uh.
Alpiger Okay. Uh, you ready to go back to school?
Shelton Yes sir. Uh, whatever. (Inaudible).
Alpiger If you're ready to go back in there and start the

classroom, I'm gonna ready, I'm getting' ready
to quit. What class you goin' back to?
Shelton Uh, science.
Alpiger Well, science is fun.
Shelton Yeah. It's (inaudible).
Alpiger Okay. I'm gonna end this. I'm gonna put, uh,
1304. It's 1:04.
Page 44 of 44
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September 9, 2008

Alpiger Mr. Shelton, please state your name, and spell

Shelton A-A-R-O-N Aaron. Shelton S-H-E-L-T-O-

Alpiger And your date of birth, Aaron?

Alpiger And your address and telephone number?

Shelton Yes sir.

Alpiger Okay. And it's actually right down the street

Shelton Yes sir.

Shelton Yes sir.

Alpiger Okay. What year are you?

Shelton I'm a sophomore.

Alpiger Uh, you're also on the football team?

Shelton Yes sir.

Alpiger Okay. And that's why we're here. We're here in

Shelton Yes sir.

Alpiger You're also aware that this tape-recorder is on.

Shelton Yes sir.

Alpiger Okay. Uh, start off, tell me how you know

Shelton Uh, I knew him through my freshman year

Alpiger So you played football with 'im…

Alpiger He's a lineman. What position are you?

Shelton I'm fullback, uh, I'm everything. I'm

Alpiger You're a play-maker.

Alpiger That's what they tell me. They tell me you're

Shelton Uh, he played defense tackle, but I think his

Shelton …when we got up to be a junior or senior year.

Alpiger So you, you know him as somebody you

Alpiger Okay. You also had classes together?

Shelton No. We ain't had no classes…

Alpiger But you seen 'im in the, in the school?

Shelton Yeah. I seen 'im in the school.

Alpiger And you had, uh, you'd have…

Alpiger Conversations. You also, well, trained, weight

Alpiger Is that correct?

Shelton Yes sir.

Shelton I said he could have been one, one of the

Alpiger So he had a lot of potential.

Alpiger And you said he lacked, uh… You, you said he

Shelton Yeah. I mean, I told 'im he needed to let the

Alpiger You just… He wasn't as aggressive as you

Shelton He wasn't, he wasn't as aggressive as I thought

Alpiger Okay. Uh, I want to start off with how practice

Shelton Pre-season. Uh, uh, it started in the summer.

Shelton You talkin' about like…

Alpiger Yeah. When you…

Shelton Like conditionin', for real.

Shelton Okay. It started in the summer, uh, I'd say in,

Alpiger Okay. And that, that's one of the things I'm

Shelton I can't tell you when it was, but it was, it was

Alpiger Did you actually have practices before then?

Shelton Uh, yeah. Uh, but it wasn't like with

Shelton …and liftin' weights and runnin' on the track

Alpiger Okay. So when did school start?

Shelton Uh, September the 12th, I think.

Shelton I mean, uh, August the 12th.

Alpiger Okay. Is that… You see the calendar I'm

Shelton Uh, yeah. I'm lookin' at…

Alpiger Does that look right?

Shelton Yeah. That was August the 12th.

Alpiger So a week before school, you were in camp,

Alpiger …College? Pretty much the whole team went?

Shelton Well, most of the, uh, uh, juniors, and… I

Alpiger Okay. Uh, and how many days of camp was