Youth League Football Coach Describes Actions of Wisconsin Parent Who Ran on Pitch and Tripped 9yo Player as the ‘Most Cowardly Act I’ve Ever Seen’
A Wisconsin parent has been labeled a coward after allegedly tripping over a nine-year-old football player at a youth league match. Footage shows the enraged father storming the pitch and knocking down the child after reportedly becoming “upset over a play.”
The incident took place at Case High School in Racine, Wisconsin, on Saturday. The dad was attending the game in support of the Milwaukee Colts, reports The New York Post, but decided to dramatically intervene against a Case Eagles player.
The nine-year-old Eagles player, seen wearing No. 88 in the video, was moments away from scoring a touchdown when the 41-year-old father walked out onto the pitch and extended his leg to trip him. Both the man and the young player are seen falling to the ground after the collision before game officials halted play.
The father’s actions set a bad example and certainly prove there is a lot he could be doing to better as a parent. Speaking to CBS, the Eagles head coach Channing Schultz said that the boy was okay and not seriously hurt by the incident. However, he said the man could have inflicted a much more serious injury on the boy: “The way he kicked my little guy. His leg could’ve broke. His shin could’ve broke,”
Schultz also expressed his fury over the man’s intervention: “I was filled with anger, it was disgusting,” he said. “It was the most cowardly act I’ve ever seen. For him to just do it with so much intent, and he was committed. No words can fix that at all.”
Police issue the father a citation
According to Mount Pleasant police, the suspect had tripped the young player after he “became upset over a play.” Following the incident, he reportedly fled the scene. Police later caught him at a traffic stop, where they issued him a citation for disorderly conduct after he admitted to his actions.
Of course, other parents who attended the game were horrified by what went down. “There is fear playing a game like that, and with youth sports, it should be fun. It shouldn’t be fearful at all,” said one woman.
The man was banned from attending games for the “remainder of the season,” but there have been calls for a far harsher punishment. Coach Schultz called for a lifetime ban, but online, people demanded that battery or attempted battery charges be brought against the man.
A press release from the Mount Pleasant Police confirmed that “the elements were not met” to charge the man with physical abuse of a child, as there was no evidence of bodily harm. Commenters on Facebook claimed it was “a weak charge” and that “more should be done.”
(Featured image: Image via WISN 12 News, YouTube)
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