Tackling on the football field is normally permitted… unless the person doing the tackling comes screaming out of the stands and happens to not be wearing pads.
A 16-year-old girl from Winchester, Tennessee (about an hour and a half southeast of Nashville) is now facing charges after she ran out onto a football field in the middle of a game and tackled one of the players out on the field. The contest between South Middle School and Cornersville Middle School was taking place at Franklin County High School, and shortly after South scored a touchdown, two players got into a fight on the field.
That prompted a 16-year-old girl at the game to jump the fence and run out onto the gridiron. She targeted one of the middle schoolers that had been in the scuffle moments earlier, and tackled him to the ground. The teenager managed to hit the football player a second time before coaches and referees were able to jump in and break up the fight.
The 16-year-old was attending the contest with her parents, and she was able to leave the premises with them. The following morning, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office charged the teen with assault and disorderly conduct. The Franklin County School systems followed suit, handing down a lifetime trespass ban from all district properties to the girl. Additionally, the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) said the 16-year-old cannot attend Cornersville Middle School athletic events for one year.
It’s a wild video that’s currently getting a lot of attention online:
“16-year-old Tennessee girl has been charged with assault after running onto a football field in the middle of a game and tackling a middle school player. The girl ran onto the field following a scuffle between two players and tackled one of the middle schoolers. She has since been hit with juvenile charges of disorderly conduct and assault. She has also been banned from school property.”
After that happened on the field, the coaches and referees came together and decided to call the game early. South Middle as up 35 to nothing at the time anyways… so there was no sense in continuing to try and determine a winner.
It’s pretty wild to think that, if that girl was in pads and a helmet, she may have been hit with a penalty flag. But since she came out of the stands and attacked a football player, she’s now facing an assault charge.
Justin Perry, the Marshall County Director of Schools, provided this statement:
“We are deeply disappointed by the incident and remain committed to player, staff, and fan safety and a high level of sportsmanship.”
Fortunately, no one was injured during this wild incident, and the Marshall County school district is working to amp up security at middle school football games for the remainder of the season. Since I can’t say I’ve ever seen something like this before, I’d imagine just keeping that 16-year-old away from the football games will be a sufficient “amping up of security.”
