Ah, nothing like out of control parents at a youth sports game.
These days, coaching a youth sports team seems like an absolute nightmare, and no, not because of the kids… because of the parents. Imagine listening to them complain about playing time nonstop or listening to them chirp the ref from the stands. THEY’RE 8 YEARS OLD, you doofus, relax.
I’ve seen videos of parents running onto the court when their kids get roughed up too much for their liking and actually take a swing at a kid, and then of course… moron dads throwing hands with each other in the bleachers, assaulting coaches, assaulting refs… it’s utterly absurd. As a father of young kids myself, a little too young for organized sports right now, I’m fearful that it is only going to get worse.
The latest viral example of this madness comes from a youth basketball game (it’s unclear where or how old the kids are) that was shared by former NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman.
The video begins with two kids getting into it away from the play, and while we don’t obviously have footage of anything that could’ve led up to this, the player in white clearly loses his cool and starts going after the kid in red. He’s definitely out of line, but it’s really just a few pushes, no big deal. Maybe give the kid a flagrant and move on? Coaches (and perhaps the kid’s mom?) rush over as the kids have already separated, and that’s when all hell breaks loose.
Roll the tape:
BOOM… not hard to see why Pro Bowl sackmaster Shawne Merriman liked seeing it. The guy absolutely blindsided the coach.
And here’s my take… that dad should probably be arrested. Now granted, I myself wouldn’t personally press charges for something like that, but there is just no reason for that whatsoever, the coach had already let him go and was walking away. How many examples have we seen lately of people winding up severely injured from physical altercations? What kind of example does that set for the kids? Lose your cool and resort to violence? Seems like that’s exactly what happened on the court too.
Now for the coach… they were already separated, there’s really no reason at all to grab the kid on the opposing team. Was the coach violent towards the kid at all? No. Did the contact warrant getting charged by the kid’s dad from the stands? Not in my opinion…
Finally, to mom running off the bleachers? What the hell are you doing? Your little boy is fine… keep it in the bleachers. If I’m that kid, it would be embarrassing as hell if my mom came running onto the court the second I got pushed.
Like I said, I have two kids (a boy and a girl) so I’m not coming at this from a place of someone ignorant of those innate protection instincts that come along with being a parent. Make no mistake, I wouldn’t think about snatching the life out of someone who harmed my children. Yeah, I didn’t stutter… snatch the life out of them… permanently. BUT…. we as parents have to have a very clear understanding of when someone is actually harming our kids, and I’m not of the mindset that I get to swing on a coach or a dad just because he grabbed hold of my kid (and him let him go after half a second). I think we live in a violent, “hit first, ask questions later” kinda of society… and it’s on us fathers to change that. How do we change that? Set the example.
Now… that being said, a TON of comments seemed to side with the father.
“You touch my boy, you getting takin’ out. I’ll ask the questions later. Well done pops.”
“Put your hands on YOUR OWN KID! Do not touch no one else kid! Period!”
“And this is why fathers need to be present! Good job dad. Ain’t no way I’d let an adult touch my child and I not react.”
“Grab your own kid, or let the refs and coaches break it up!”
“The kid was already walking away from the other kid He had no business touching that boy at all He got exactly what he deserved.”
“Lesson learned. Don’t touch other people children.”
“I green flag this for ALL Fathers, let your sons know they’re protected and you’ll discipline them if they’re in the wrong!”
“Kids fight. Let them fight. They’ll dap each other up eventually. But don’t touch my kid. You’ll leave in an ambulance!”
“I’m the dad at the end! EVERYONE getting this smoke!”
A few others, not so much:
“Yea both adults wrong.”
“What if the guy banged his skull and didn’t make it? Then what?”
“Wow, so sad. As adults, we set the example for the kids. Dad was out of control.”
“Don’t put your hands on a player that isn’t yours. That said, it doesn’t give the parent (I’m guessing) the right to blindside that coach. The coach was disengaged from the player and not perceived as a threat.”
But overall, most of the comments seem to think the dad had every right to railroad that coach for touching his kid.
And I still disagree… what do you think?
