Youth football coach enforces team rules by punching player’s father in the face
As a youth sports coach myself, I can certainly relate to the Pop Warner coach in Wilmington, Mass., who was frustrated that a parent dropped off his child 10 minutes late to practice. It’s highly disruptive, because your limited practice time goes out of whack when everyone isn’t there on time.
However, I’ve never slugged anybody over it. But maybe that’s because I’m slender.
A Wilmington Pop Warner football coach has been charged with viciously beating the parent of one of his players after being called a “fat bastard” for making a kid run a lap.
William D. Reynolds, 43, was charged with aggravated assault and battery in Friday’s attack on Michael VonKahle, 48, according to a complaint filed by Wilmington police [Monday] at Woburn District Court.
VonKahle suffered broken bones in his face, according to police. Reynolds, who could not be reached for comment, will be arraigned Nov. 17.
…
VonKahle told police he joked to Reynolds, “If anybody needs to run laps it should be you, you fat bastard,” according to a report.
Ten minutes later, Reynolds asked if they could talk, then led VonKahle to some nearby woods, where he repeatedly punched a stunned VonKahle in the face, police report.
Reynolds told cops VonKahle “had fighting on his mind” and threw the first punch.
Maybe the dad meant to say, “If anybody needs something to make gums flap, it’s this, Fat Bastard.”
The league has suspended Reynolds pending the police investigation. More on that, and a picture of VonKahle’s face (he suffered eye socket and facial injuries, including broken bones and missing teeth), are in this Boston Globe article, which concludes thusly: “In a telephone interview yesterday, local Pop Warner board member and the board’s football director, Mark Ferreira, said: ‘Any youth program is supposed to set examples, but there were no examples set by anyone out there.’ ”
Sure there were. The other parents learned the consequences of bringing your kid to practice late, and calling the coach a name. Next time someone does that with me, I’m going to pull the father aside and… and… well, probably get myself beat up. I’m slender.
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This story (and your closing comment) reminded me of an incident also outside of Boston a number of years ago. Look up the sad tale of Michael Costin and Thomas Junta. If I recall correctly, Dad’s beef was that the practice hockey game was getting too physical, and he let the coach know it. Not a good day to be the coach, or his survivors. I remember having a ton of fun playing sports growing up. When the hell did all this start to happen?
Matt, here is background on the Junta case, as well as an epilogue on Michael Costin Jr., the son of the coach that Junta beat fatally in 2000. Unfortunately, Michael Costin Jr., 20, is in jail for 18 months after threatening to kill his 43-year-old girlfriend. Apparently his post-hockey, post-father’s-death life spiraled into a haze of substance abuse.
http://yourkidsnotgoingpro.wordpress.com/2009/05/21/the-sad-decline-of-michael-costin-jr/
Thanks for bringing up that case, Matt. A particularly harrowing example of out-of-control parents, no doubt.
In response to another comment. See in context »[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Coach, Coach. Coach said: Bob Cook Your Kids Not Going Pro – Youth football coach enforces …: Youth football coach enforces team rules .. http://tinyurl.com/yjc9sg3 [...]
[...] That it was made by the alcohol companies themselves explains why drunk dad is merely annoying and embarassing — and why his beer has a brand-covering koozie. Or maybe South African drunk sports dads are more time. All I know is, in the United States, particularly in Massachusetts, drunk dad confronting the rugby coach about why his son is on the bench would have ended with somebody getting a beatdown. [...]