Football dads are known to get overly involved from the sidelines, but a Wisconsin parent has established a new low point as he was caught on video tripping a nine-year-old player running for a touchdown during a youth league game.
In game between the Milwaukee Colts and the Case Eagles, the enraged dad entered the field as a player wearing number 88 was rushing to score a touchdown. The rogue parent then extended his left leg and tripped the athlete, according to police in Mt. Pleasant. Both ended up on the ground beneath the yard markers.
News outlets obtained the shocking footage of the act in Racine, a Lake Michigan town about 70 miles north of Chicago. The video has gone viral on social media.
The dad was supporting the Colts and had become “upset over a play,” according to a police statement.
The boy’s coach called it “the most cowardly act I’ve ever seen,” as play had to be stopped after the incident.
Police charged the unidentified dad with disorderly conduct after he reportedly admitted to his actions during a traffic stop, according to police. A “quick thinking” parent had followed the suspect as he fled in his vehicle and apparently helped police locate the man.
Eagles head coach Channing Schultz said his player is okay but was infuriated. “The kids come first. Safety comes first,” Schultz told WISN. “The way he kicked my little guy, his leg could have broke. Shin could have broke.”
The man has been banned from games for the “remainder of the season,” an official for the Colts team confirmed to a CBS affiliate.
Schultz called for a lifetime ban.
Mount Pleasant police did not identify the suspect in their news release, which was posted on social media.
Commenters on the post called for greater punishment.
“He assaulted a child you should at least refer up charges to the DA for battery, attempted battery, reckless endangering safety. This is a weak charge, more should be done,” one user wrote.
Breitbart News contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.