Ben Hershey / Unsplash
A Licking County League Youth Football coach in Ohio was FIRED UP after borderline mayhem broke out on the field Sunday and when the dust had settled he found himself arrested for attacking a referee.
37-year-old Christopher Deason was charged with assault after he “inappropriately confronted” the referee, according to reports. Investigators are now reviewing video clips of the brawl and subsequent confrontation to see if any additional charges are necessary.
It began on the field when football players from both teams got heated, then the parents of the players started making their way to the field, and that’s about the time when things got really heated.
From the clip below, it appears as if the referee is actively trying to break up the fighting players when a kid in yellow storms up and shoves a player in red, pushing him from behind. The ref’s immediate reaction is to push the kid in the yellow jersey back and away from the brawl and this is when the coach comes roaring off the sidelines and attacks the referee.
Check it out (direct Twitter video link):
Licking County deputies are watching videos to find out what started the chaos at a youth football game between Watkins and Licking Valley. A coach was arrested Sunday for assault on a referee and a parent. pic.twitter.com/eFtI9hjmZW
— Lu Ann Stoia (@StoiaLu) October 14, 2019
This is definitely a touchy situation. Was the coach defending his player because he thought the referee was inappropriately handling one of his youth players? Will that even matter now that charges have been filed? It seems like I’m not the only person who saw a concerned adult protecting a child in a knee-jerk reaction:
https://twitter.com/But4OhioState86/status/1183838313213517824
The account above, one where a coach is protecting a kid, is certainly the prevailing theory at this point:
The unidentified ref was “inappropriately confronted” by Deason, who was later charged with assault. Investigators are reviewing several video clips of the incident to determine if additional charges are necessary, Sheriff Randy Thorp said in a statement.
Video obtained by WSYX shows Deason, of Pataskala, running onto the field, apparently because an opposing coach was a “little too aggressive and shouldn’t have touched his player,” Chief Deputy Chad Dennis told the station.
That prompted Deason to hit the ref in the chest with “both open hands,” according to a sheriff’s office report obtained by the Newark Advocate. (via NYPost)
Here’s a full copy of the police report, via Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Kevin10TV/status/1183765874722914305/photo/1
In reality, everyone on the field is at fault. The kids got out of hand and should’ve known better. They’re 12-years-old, they know that fighting isn’t right. The parents failed to protect their kids by teaching them to follow the rules of the game. The refs failed to maintain order. The parents failed to remain calm when all hell broke loose. And the coach who was charged with assault overreacted.
Just a complete shit show all around.
For a full rundown of the event and a longer video on the NYpost, you can click here to read their article.