Western Pennsylvania youth football coach accused of choking official during game
UNIONTOWN, Pa. (KDKA) — A youth sports coach is facing charges for allegedly choking an official at a football game Sunday in Fayette County.
It happened during a game for the Western Pennsylvania Football League on Albert Gallatin's football field. According to online paperwork, Trevor Yeager is facing charges including assault on a sports official and harassment after apparently getting into an altercation during the game.
"We obviously had some students, you figure 5-,6-,7-year-olds that were shaken by the event," said Christopher Pegg, superintendent of the Albert Gallatin School District.
Pegg said he was made aware of the incident on Monday and saw a video showing what happened.
"I saw one of the coaches approach the official and chest bump the official and grabbed him," Pegg said. "You can see that in the video where he did put his hands around the official's neck."
Pegg said Yeager and the referee are part of the Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League, which is independent of the district. He said Albert Gallatin allows the league to play on its field.
After reviewing the video, Pegg said the decision was made to pause the league from using its facilities.
"We do not want that to happen. Let me say that again. Our district and our school board 100 percent support our youth organizations and appreciate the coaches and the volunteers who make things happen. We just have to make sure that things move forward in a positive light," Pegg said.
Pegg said Yeager has been a coach for several years.
"He's a person that is well-respected in our community. I've never had any issues whatsoever before. Even the football officials were just surprised," Pegg said.
KDKA-TV talked to a parent who was at the game on Sunday. They said the incident started when the coach questioned the official about penalties not being called. The witness claimed Yeager only pushed the official out of the way.
On Wednesday night, Pegg said he held a closed-door meeting with the football coaches to address expectations and their code of conduct.
"We're here for the kids. We need to be positive. We need to set good examples, and we can't tolerate this type of thing moving forward," Pegg said. "You are a role model that needs to be positive. You need to have good sportsmanship."
The superintendent said Yeager likely won't be coaching for the remainder of the year. He said it's up to the league's executive board to take a vote to determine if he can coach again in the future. KDKA-TV reached out to the Western Pennsylvania Youth Football League for comment and has not heard back yet.
According to online documents, Yeager has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Nov. 15.
In addition to the incident on Sunday, KDKA-TV has learned of another incident involving a high school and a middle school student being involved in an altercation on school property.
Pegg said the altercation had very little to do with their decision to pause the league's use of the facilities.
"The major determining factor was the assault on the field during the game," Pegg said.