Violence in Youth Sports

April 12, 2005 -- CALIFORNIA -- Boy, 13, held in death at Pony League ball game  

July 15, 2995 -- T-Ball Coach Paid Player to Assault Teammate.

In another study
According to a youth sports study conducted by the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission 45.3 percent of youngsters surveyed said they had been called names, yelled at, or insulted while participating in sports, 17.5 percent said they had been hit, kicked or slapped while participating in sports, 8.2 percent said they had been pressured to intentionally harm others while playing sports.

Have you been a witness to violence at a Youth sports event?
Sports Moms Speak out

Combatting Violence in Youth Sports
National Alliance for Youth Sports

Parental Violence in Youth Sports: Facts, Myths, and Videotape
Sports Studies at Rutgers University

Violence and injury in youth sports -- Not in my league!
Blueprint for violence in youth sports

Sports hazing incidents
80 percent of college athletes had been hazed, now occurring in HS and youth sports
ESPN

Hazing Gone Awry
Fifteen girls were charged with misdemeanor battery and two adults were charged with alcohol-related misdemeanors.
Moms Team Media

Judge sentenced two teens to detention facilities for sexually assaulting three younger teens members
Associated Press

Coach accused of paddling
Elementary school basketball coach was charged with three counts of felony battery alleging that he used a wooden paddle as punishment for the 13 year old boys' poor performance.
USA Today  

Stop Hazing Origination
Hazing in sports

Hazing study suggests pervasive problem
Nearly half -- 48 percent -- of the 1390 students reported being subjected to hazing activities.
CNN - Cable News Network
 

Every day in America and around the world, sports officials are physically and verbally harassed.

The fact that such behavior occurs at sporting events involving youth participants is appalling in itself, but the frequency in which these reports now occur is even more disturbing.

It is the belief of NASO the reports it receives involving physical contact between coaches, players, fans and officials is only the tip of the iceberg The organization is not the clearinghouse for bad behavior,

The following are examples of some incidents.

Boy 13, Held in Death at Pony League Ball Game
• PALMDALE, California. - April 12, 2005 -- A 13-year-old boy allegedly killed a 15-year-old by hitting him in the head with a baseball bat during an argument at a Pony League baseball game authorities said Wednesday.

The 15-year-old was pronounced dead at a hospital following the attack, which occurred shortly after 8:30 PM Tuesday near Palmdale High School, according to Los Angeles County sheriff's.

The younger boy remained in custody at a sheriff's station.


Palmdale Pony League Baseball Field
 

Felony Assault at San Gabriel Valley Junior All American Football Game
WHITTIER – Two brothers pleaded no contest today for attacking other parents and an elderly coach last October during a football game in Pico Rivera, the District Attorney’s Office announced.

Deputy District Attorney Joseph Porras said 32-year-old Xxxxx Xxxxx pleaded no contest to one count of felony assault and admitted the special allegation of causing great bodily injury. Judge Dewey Falcone sentenced him to five years in state prison.

Xxxxx Xxxxxx, 26, pleaded no contest to one felony count of assault, Porras said. There was no special allegation added. Judge Falcone sentenced him to two years in state prison. Both brothers were charged with beating the same victim. All other charges were dismissed.

The two brothers allegedly jumped in the middle of a brawl during a San Gabriel Valley Junior All-American Football Conference game at Pico Rivera Park, after a fight broke out between nearly two dozen parents involving teams from Pico Rivera and nearby Downey. A videotape of the fight also showed the 67-year-old assistant coach for the Downey team, Richard Engles, trying to break up the fight and getting punched to the ground by Xxxxx Xxxxx.

Linda Lane, conference president of the youth football league, confirmed that two teams from the San Gabriel Valley Conference were involved in the brawl but did not offer further comment.

Three Adults were Arrested of 30 Involved in Youth Soccer Match
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO CA -- Youth Soccer officials got tough with unruly adults after a violent brawl during an under 14 tournament. The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) banned one parent and two soccer coaches for life and disbanded two boys soccer teams following the worst brawl in its 35-year history.  About 30 adults were involved in a post-match melee in the southern California town of San Juan Capistrano after a tournament game between the Palmdale Eagles and the Chino Chiefs. Three adults were arrested, one parent needed treatment for a bite, another suffered cuts and a swollen eye and others reported being hit on the head with umbrellas and being threatened by a man swinging a metal rod.  The cause of the melee after the San Juan Capistrano game was unclear but reports from the sheriff's department at the time said violence broke out after an assistant coach for the winning Chino team allegedly tried to pick a fight with a Palmdale player.

Dunbar, PA -- T-Ball Coach Paid Player to Assault Teammate. T-ball coach paid one of his players $25 to hurt an 8-year-old teammate. so he wouldn't have to put the boy in the game. Police said the boy was hit in the head and in the groin with a baseball just before a game, and didn't play.

T-Ball League officials investigated the accusations, found nothing wrong and took no action. The injured players mother asked the state police to investigate. Witnesses told police the coach didn't want the boy to play in the game. The coach was arrested and arraigned on charges of criminal solicitation to commit aggravated assault, corruption of minors, criminal conspiracy to commit simple assault and recklessly endangering another person. The alleged assault took place within 200 miles of Little National Headquarters in Williamsport, PA. July 15, 2005

Pennsylvania (Basketball) — A parent body-slammed a high school referee after he ordered the man’s wife out of the gym for allegedly yelling obscenities during a basketball game. The referee was treated at a hospital for a concussion and released after the Feb. 6 attack. Charged with simple assault, assault on a sports official and disorderly conduct is Xxxxx  Xxxxxx, 47, Hampton, Pa. (Contributing source: CNN.com,

• Kentucky (Basketball) — During a fifth grade little league game in Adair County, one players father (and a teacher for the school district) physically confronted the game official during half-time after the official ejected several players for a fight that broke out during the first half of the game. (Contributing source: WBKO-TV

• New Jersey (Soccer) — Referee James Clay, a 50-year-old with seven years of officiating experience, was slugged in the head and neck after ejecting a Clayton High School player.The player, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. He was released to the custody of his parents. (Contributing source: Philadelphia Inquirer

• New Jersey (Baseball) – Xxxxx Xxxxxx, 39, of Old Bridge, was indited on by the Manmouth County grand jury and charged with assault at a youth sports event for an incident that occurred on July 11 during a Babe Ruth baseball game. Xxxxxx allegedly bumped and then punched the umpire during an argument. Under the New Jersey law, he could face up to 18 months in prison and $10,000 in fines.

• Illinois (Football) – Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx of Murphysboro was charged with two counts of aggravated battery and one count of battery after allegedly charging onto the field and attempting to choke game official Mike Byrne, a 27-year officiating veteran. Franklin County Assistant State’s Attorney Aaron Hopkins said that battery is a misdemeanor and aggravated battery is a Class 4 felony, which could include prison time if convicted. "We intend to prosecute the individual to the fullest extent of the law," said Frankfort High School Athletics Director Richard Glodich.

• Kentucky (Baseball) – Xxxxx Xxxxxx, a father of a T-ball player was briefly jailed after an outburst against an umpire during a game involving 5- and 6-year-olds. The accused threatened to beat the umpire moments before walking onto the field and starting a fight with Eddie Smith, who was officiating the game, according to the criminal complaint. A girl who was playing in the game suffered a minor injury when she was struck in the face during the scuffle.

• Illinois (Softball) – An irate father head butted softball umpire Tim Smith in a confrontation following a girls softball game in Sunnyland. The mother had earlier been ejected for berating the umpire. The father faces a charge of battery.

• Oklahoma (Baseball) – Xxxxxx High School baseball coach Xxxxx Xxxxx allegedly attacked umpire Clendon Cannon in the umpires’ room following a game with Moore High School. Cannon suffered a bruised lip, knot over his left eye and a sore right shoulder. Following an internal investigation by the Xxxxx superintendent, Xxxxx resigned his coaching position with the school.

• Iowa (Basketball) – The parent of a Davenport Assumption basketball player turned the team’s final game of the regular season into a boxing match by assaulting a referee who was getting ready to shower after the game, police said. Assumption parent Xxxxx Xxxxx, of Davenport, went down the stairs and began pounding on the glass near the referee locker room, upset about a call at the end of the game, police said. Referee Timothy McCann, 46, of Eldridge, wore only a towel when he opened the door to ask Xxxxx to leave, police said. Xxxxx leaped through the opened door and assaulted McCann, who was treated and released at Genesis Medical Center-East Campus for injuries to his right arm and face, police said. Police cited Xxxxx for assault with injury, a serious misdemeanor.

• Florida (Soccer) – Parent Xxxxx Xxxxx enters the soccer field to check on his son, who has been injured in a skirmish for the ball. Angry that a more severe penalty had not been levied on the opposing player, Xxxxx confronts the referee and shoves him to the ground. The game is stopped  and forfeited by Orange Park High School to Nease High

• Louisiana (Baseball) – A Mandeville, La., father allegedly made the call to attack an umpire following his seven-year-old son’s baseball game, pushing the man in blue against a bathroom wall and threatening to kill him. Xxxx Xxxxxx, 28, was charged with battery after the encounter with 21-year-old umpire Alan Terry. During the game, Terry had ejected both of Xxxxxx son’s coaches for disputing calls. Park workers stopped the scuffle and called the police. Terry had bruises on his throat and elbow, but did not require medical treatment.

• New Mexico (Football) — Youth football coach Xxxxx Xxxxx, 31, hit referee Edmund Romero, 31, "in the face with a closed fist" after disagreeing with a call, Santa Fe, N.M., police said. The fracas occurred after an Oct. 20 title game in a league for 12- and 13-year-olds. Xxxxx’s team lost 13-12. Romero suffered a broken tooth, abrasions to his face and a bloody nose.

• Indiana (Football) — The father of a Wallace High School football player in Gary was arrested during a sectional game against Merrillville. Thirty-nine-year-old Xxxxx Xxxxx is accused of punching and shoving a referee. Wallace coach John Hoover says Xxxxx became upset when the team was losing Friday night and went to talk with his son, junior lineman Xxxxx Xxxxx. Police say Xxxxx struck referee Andrew Simpson after Simpson asked him to leave the sidelines. Simpson fell on his back but was not injured. Merrillville beat Wallace 41-to-nothing.

• Maryland (Soccer) — A girls soccer team (U14) is suspended for the entire fall season after a teenage referee is harassed and physically threatened.

• Wisconsin (Baseball) — A coach and his assistant, after having been ejected from a 13 and-under youth baseball game confront the umpire and body slam him to the ground during a physical struggle.

• California (Baseball) – Xxxxx Xxxxx, 32, attacked and knocked an umpire unconscious over a disputed call at a Palm Springs Youth baseball Association game involving 9- and 10-year old players. (June 20) UPDATE: Xxxxx served a 180 days sentence in county jail and received three years probation. As part of the sentence, Xxxxx was banned from participating in any level of youth sports again.

• Florida (Baseball) — During a 13-14-year-old division baseball game the umpire is attacked by a coach who is able to snatch the umpires facemask off his face and hit him with the mask and a water bottle.

• South Dakota (Soccer) — A 42 year-old adult man strikes the soccer referee, who happened to also be the town’s mayor, during a match between 11-year-old girls. The coach was sentenced to one year in jail

• Pennsylvania (Baseball) — A former police officer was convicted of soliciting assault for giving a 10-year-old Little League pitcher $2 to hit another youngster with a fastball.

• Texas (Baseball) — A police sergeant and youth coach, angry after being ejected from his sons game goes home and puts on his police uniform, waits in the parking lot following the game and then issues a traffic violation ticket to the games umpire when he leaves the facility. The officer is reprimanded by the police department for lying about the incident to his superiors.

• North Carolina (Basketball) — Leaders of a recreational basketball league place a "lifetime ban" on the mother of a 14-year-old player in the community program after she jumps on the back of an official scratching his face and the back of his neck.

• Nebraska (Football) — A 38-year-old coach is sentenced to 30 days in jail for punching a 16-year old referee at halftime of a game.

• New York (Hockey) — A 40-year-old father is charged with assault for allegedly hitting his son’s hockey coach because the coach did not play the boy in the final minutes of a youth hockey game. The parent struck the coach with a hockey stick and broke the coach’s nose.

• Maryland (Football) — A game of 12-year-olds is forfeited after the referee is struck in the face by a player’s swinging helmet when the player became upset at a penalty call.

• Florida (Soccer) — An upset coach attacks the game referee near a concession stand following a soccer game of 12-year-olds. The coach head butts the official and breaks his nose.

• Pennsylvania (Wrestling) — A parent is charged with assault against an official when he comes out of the stands and punches the referee at a youth wrestling match involving 10-year-olds.

• Virginia (Soccer) — A "soccer mom" slaps and scratches the face of the games 15-year-old volunteer referee following a soccer game involving 9-year-olds.

• Wisconsin (Baseball) — A 62-year-old volunteer baseball umpire is punched in the face several times by a coach angry over a non-call in an 11-and 12-year-old level baseball game. The coach follows the umpire into the equipment room to attack him.

• Alabama (Baseball) — A father/son coaching duo attacked both umpires during an 11- and 12-year-old Dixie Youth League All-Star Game. The duo teamed-up to hold one official down while kicking and beating him.

• Indiana (Football) — Twenty-six police units respond to a riot among parents fighting at a youth football game. The incident occurs after a parent hits the referee who is marking the ball out of bounds.

• Colorado (Baseball) — A 16-year-old umpire received four stitches in his mouth and was treated for bruised ribs after he was pushed, hit and kicked by players and a coach at a 15-to-18-year-old recreational baseball tournament. The official could have been more seriously injured had he not been wearing a chest protector according to the doctor that treated him.