A Reno parent has been cited with misdemeanor child endangerment after charging at a coach during his son’s 10 and under youth football game in Shasta Lake, Calif., on Nov. 29.
The parent is accused of charging at the opposing team’s coach after his son was tackled by a player and then picked up by the coach and pushed back toward the field after the play, according to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.
“The player’s father, who was an assistant coach for the Reno team, perceived the push to be an assault and ran across the field to confront the Central Valley coach,” the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office did not identify the Reno man.
The sheriff’s office said when the Reno man swung at the coach who had picked up his son, he missed and hit a child on the sidelines. The child wasn’t hurt but the parents requested charges be filed, the sheriff’s office said.
Adults then ran onto the field and became involved in multiple fights. Video shared online shows a brawl with people grabbing onto each other and throwing punches.
“At some point during this incident, the Reno coach was struck and was believed to be temporarily unconscious,” the sheriff’s office said. The Reno coach was evaluated by medical personnel and released. There was no information on who may have hit the Reno man and if that person could be charged.
The sheriff’s office said it could not comment on the case and inquires about the investigation should be handled through a record request.
The RGJ filed a request for the citation issued to the Reno man and any supporting videos of the fight.
The sheriff’s office said the man was cited for child endangerment without great bodily injury or death and the case will be forwarded to the Shasta County District Attorney’s office for review.
Public Information Officer for the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Tim Mapes said things like this don’t happen in Shasta County.
“This incident is very isolated and not normal for any youth sporting events in Shasta County,” Mapes told the RGJ.
Turkey Bowl was charity tournament
The charity tournament at Central Valley High School, about 200 miles west of Reno and just north of Redding, Calif., was organized by Central Valley Youth Falcons Coach Laval Jeantet. The Falcons are a youth football program affiliated with the Sacramento Youth Football League.
Jeantet did not return a request for comment.
In flyers promoting the Turkey Bowl, Jeantet listed the Battle Born Nevada Football 10 and under team from Reno. The Nevada league is a competitive football program for children. It has been in Reno for several years and competes in national tournaments.
According to Battle Born Football Director Dave Rios, some players and parents from his program were at the game, but it was not a Battle Born team.
Rios told the Reno Gazette Journal the tournament wasn’t one his official teams participated in and was organized last minute by a parent of one of his players.
He said the parent created a team from various programs, including children who live in California. Rios said it’s a common practice because kids and parents are looking for game experience.
Rios sent a statement from the parent who organized the team to play in Shasta.
“As the head coach of the independent Reno team that traveled to Shasta, I want to set the record straight regarding the incident,” Frank Sandoval said in the statement shared with the RGJ on Tuesday.
The statement said Sandoval helped form this makeshift team to help the coach who organized the fundraiser for the local high school in Shasta. He said it was put together when another team backed out.
Sandoval said the team at the game was not the Battle Born All Stars. He wrote that he believed parents with both teams acted inappropriately.
“Both sides acknowledge that certain parents should have been better controlled, and the situation was not handled correctly,” Sandoval said in his statement.
“As the video shows that coaches from both teams stepped in to immediately break things up and deescalate, but the numbers made it difficult.”
This story has been updated to include additional comments from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.
This article originally appeared on Reno Gazette Journal:
What we know about Reno coach cited after brawl at youth football game
