Parents have a tough choice to make when deciding if they will let their children play football, and the violent nature of the game is chief among them.
But next on the list could be the poor role models that patrol the sidelines, as was witnessed during a third-grade football game in Tulsa, Okla., on Saturday.
A coach was caught on camera putting another coach into a chokehold after the two got into a verbal disagreement on the sideline.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCNxLplrYps
The coach who started the altercation spoke to News9’s Taylor Newcomb, and he came clean about what started the conflict.
“I asked the offensive coordinator Coach “A” if he could put some substitutes in and let my son carry the ball,” he said, per Newcomb. “He turned around and he said, ‘Your son is slow, and he’s not ever gonna run the ball.'”
The coach, who was not identified in the story, noted he has another son who is autistic and the word slow caused him to snap. He apologized to the coaches and has decided never to coach again.
“I’ve been coaching since I was 18 years old, volunteering,” he said. “This has never happened before. I lost my mind. I said curse words in front of the kids. I was screaming.
“I promise I will never step foot on another football field as a volunteer coach again.”
Personally, we think both men were in the wrong. Youth sports are about having fun and getting an opportunity to play the game, and there should never be an incident like this among impressionable children.
Thumbnail photo via YouTube
