North Texas Pee Wee Game Ends With Brawl Off The Field
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - A dispute over the age of a North Texas pee wee football player turned into a brawl. The fisticuffs incident was one where parents and coaches were the ones acting like children.
Police were even called in to control the chaos in Crowley. Paramedics treated one person at the field for injuries from an assault.
Both sides told CBS 11 News that profanity was flying and punches were being thrown… all in front of the kids.
It wasn't the kind of crowd noise you usually hear at a kid's sporting event. "The kids screaming, the mothers screaming, 'My baby. Where's my baby?'" one person recalled.
The incident involved a lot of tackling -- not game related. "Both of them were just physically, both, hitting him."
The scene certainly wasn't what anyone was expecting at a football game for 7-year-olds.
Cell phone cameras captured the parking lot chaos between parents and coaches from Weatherford and Crowley. They were on the field Monday, when questions about the age of a Weatherford player, led to a Crowley coach pushing a referee.
The game was stopped. Weatherford players were hurried from the field, while a director tried to get Crowley fans to stay where they were.
"They did not listen to him, and went around, and [it] escalated into the parking lot," explained Mike Smith, president of the Weatherford Outlaws. "It was just one isolated family, against my one family."
An incident that started with one family soon included others.
The situation had calmed down by the time police arrived and no charges were filed.
Crowley Youth Association president Richard Mattinson, who has parents and coaches sign a code of ethics agreement, has suspended two coaches and they could ultimately be banned from the league.
"They put profanity, bad sportsmanship, stupidity, in front of loving, caring support, for their own kid," Mattison said.
Now children, from both teams, will also pay the price. Because of the incident the teams have been ruled ineligible for the playoffs. Some adults with the Weatherford team said they don't understand.
"What does that teach 'em?" asked Outlaws coach Christopher Frank. "You're going to get attacked, your parents are going to get attacked… your family, but you're going to get the same penalty as the people that attacked you."
The league president told CBS 11 News that though Crowley instigated what happened there were numerous fights, involving both towns, and both teams have to be penalized equally.
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