A group of men viciously attacked a youth football league coach during practice in Kansas Monday night before the coach’s wife fired a gun in the air to scare them away.
A man watching the practice at Linwood Park, in south Wichita, confronted the coach about his son’s lack of playing time, lifting his shirt to display a handgun tucked into the waist of his pants, The Wichita Eagle reported. That’s when five or six other men, one with brass knuckles, began beating the 37-year-old coach, Lt. James Espinoza said.
The coach’s wife pulled out a gun of her own and fired it into the air. The coach was able to break free from the attackers and went to his car for a second gun, which he pointed at various people in the crowd, Lt. Espinoza told the paper.
The attackers had all fled the park by the time officers arrived, the officer said. The guns used by the coach and his wife were confiscated, but no arrests have been made, The Eagle reported.
“It’s upsetting to even hear a story like this,” said Lt. Espinoza, who is a youth league football coach himself. “It just sets a terrible example of coaching and parenting.”
Any children who witnessed the incident will probably never forget it, Lt. Espinoza said.
“It should be no part of the sport,” he added.
The police report did not give the ages of the players practicing or the team to which they belong, The Eagle reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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