Sports

WATCH: 9-Year-Old Breaks Toward the End Zone — Then an Opposing Parent Takes Him Down

Jimmy ParkerAugust 31, 20264

Folks, I’ve watched a lot of parents lose their minds at youth sporting events. Screaming at referees. Screaming at coaches. Screaming instructions to their kid from 75 yards away as though little Johnny is awaiting tactical guidance from Bill Belichick. But this one may deserve its own trophy. During a 10-U youth football game in Wisconsin, a 41-year-old father apparently decided that watching from the sideline wasn’t enough. Video shows the man entering the field and tripping a 9-year-old boy from the opposing team while the kid was running with the football. Yes, you read that correctly. Nine years old. And fortunately, the boy wasn’t injured, because this story could have ended a whole lot differently.

WATCH What Happens

The incident happened August 22 at Case High School in the Racine area during a Brew City League game involving the Case Eagles and Milwaukee Colts. Video shows No. 88 breaking loose with the football and heading downfield. Then an adult associated with the opposing team enters the action, extends his leg and sends the 9-year-old to the ground. Both of them go down. Now, normally when an adult finds himself lying on a football field next to a 9-year-old from the opposing team, there should be a fascinating explanation involving a meteor, sudden loss of consciousness or perhaps an escaped rhinoceros. Unfortunately, the explanation here was considerably less impressive. Police say the man admitted what he’d done and acknowledged that he was wrong.

Dad Had an Explanation — Sort Of

Body-camera footage obtained by WISN gives us a better idea of what was going through Dad’s head, and I’ll give him this much: he didn’t stand there pretending nothing happened. He reportedly apologized and told police he had become “impulsive.” He explained that some of the opposing players were bigger than his son and that he became frightened because his son had previously broken his arm twice. I understand that part. Any decent parent watching his child take a hard hit can feel his stomach drop. You want to protect your kid. That’s normal. What isn’t normal is apparently deciding, Well, if they’re going to hit my kid, I’m checking myself into the game. You’re the adult. Pull your son from the game. Talk to the coach. Talk to the officials. Demand they stop the game. Take your kid home. There are roughly 4,782 available options before we arrive at trip somebody else’s 9-year-old.

Youth Sports Have an Adult Problem

And that’s what makes this bigger than one ridiculous video. We’ve somehow reached the point where the least emotionally mature people at some children’s sporting events aren’t necessarily the children. They’re sitting in folding chairs on the sidelines. Youth sports are supposed to teach kids how to compete, lose, win, work together, control their emotions and respect the rules. Then little Jimmy looks toward the sideline and sees Dad screaming at a 17-year-old referee because he missed a holding call in a fourth-grade football game. In this case, things went much further. The incident generated such a reaction that officials ultimately called the game early, according to local reporting. Case Eagles coach Channing Schultz later made exactly the point adults ought to hear: parents and coaches have to do better because kids should feel safe at these games. No kidding. If we’re teaching 9-year-olds emotional control while the adults are charging onto the field, I think we’ve identified a flaw in the lesson plan.

And Then Comes the $313 Question

Here’s the part that’s going to irritate plenty of people. Police cited the father for disorderly conduct. The incident was also reviewed for possible physical abuse of a child, but authorities said the necessary elements weren’t met, specifically because there was no bodily harm. According to reporting based on police records, the disorderly-conduct citation can be resolved with a $313 payment without a court appearance. The league also reportedly banned the man from future games, while WISN reported that the Milwaukee Colts were fined. Legally, I understand the distinction authorities are making: you can’t simply invent a more serious charge because the video makes everybody angry, and thankfully the child wasn’t injured. But $313? There are speeding tickets that can ruin your afternoon more than that. I’m not arguing that we throw the guy into Alcatraz. I’m suggesting that maybe physically interfering with a 9-year-old during a children’s football game ought to carry enough consequences that the next parent contemplating a mid-game substitution thinks, You know what? Maybe I’ll stay behind the rope.

At Least He Admitted He Was Wrong

There is one thing worth saying in the father’s favor, and Jimmy doesn’t believe in leaving facts out simply because they’re inconvenient to the argument. Police say he was cooperative, admitted what happened and acknowledged that he was wrong. Bodycam footage shows him explaining himself and saying he’d apologized to the team and coach. Good. He should have. People do stupid things, sometimes spectacularly stupid things, and admitting you screwed up beats spending three weeks telling America that the video doesn’t show what our eyeballs clearly tell us it shows. But an apology doesn’t erase the original decision. This wasn’t two fathers shoving each other after an argument. This was an adult entering a children’s football game and making physical contact with a 9-year-old player. Those are very different things.

WE’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS! PLEASE COMMENT BELOW.

JIMMY

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