Some youth sports parents have a tendency to take the game a bit too seriously, but you didn’t need us to tell you that. On Friday night in Springfield, Mass., yet another angry parent lost his temper and attacked a coach. The alleged attacker, Timothy Lee Forbes, reportedly punched the winning coach and then bit off part of his ear after his son’s team lost their 6th-grade Catholic Youth Organization basketball game.
According to reports, the coach was rushed to a local hospital where the severed part of his ear was reattached.
The children playing in the game ranged from ages 10 through 12, and many of them were reportedly knocked to the ground and left crying during the altercation between Forbes and the coach. According to the police report, others who were in attendance at the game had to pull Forbes from the coach before he fled the scene. He turned himself into authorities on Monday, but plead not guilty to disorderly conduct, assault and battery, felony mayhem, and other charges.
CYO officials said in a statement that the coach was in good spirits and recovering well, before adding the following: “This is the first time in league history that such an act has ever happened after a game. It happened after a special evening of young people engaging in great athletic sportsmanship.”
We hear these stories all the time, but they never cease to amaze me. This type of thing should never go on at a sporting event, let alone one for kids who are still in grade school. If convicted of mayhem — which is the act of cutting or biting off an extremity — Forbes could face 15 years to life in prison.
H/T Game On!
