# Football Dad Hits Kid **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 6, 2006, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605 "2006-09-06T06:26:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/21 "2006-09-06T18:35:58Z")
The speed of the action leads me to believe that there may have been a series of cheat shots in this game. Doesn’t excuse his actions, of course. The right way to deal with it is to sucker punch the opposing coach when you go to shake hands after the game! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/22 "2006-09-06T18:42:27Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] Doesn’t excuse his actions, of course. The right way to deal with it is to sucker punch the opposing coach when you go to shake hands after the game! [/QUOTE] That’s what I’m talking about. The offense is so funny to me because it is so doubly stupid. The insane, violent, and criminal response is _obviously_ tagging the opposing coach or the (deliberately, of course) blind ref, not clipping the kid. The crazy stupidity is taken to a comedic level. ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/23 "2006-09-06T18:43:06Z")
[QUOTE=Brandon] Yet another incident of parental violence in the world of youth sports. The father/assistant coach rushed the field after an opposing player had a late hit on his son and popped the offending kid from behind. A small fracas ensued afterwards while the adult hopped a fence and took off. [Link to story and video.](http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=133839) [/QUOTE] That’s a heck of a site. It showed me an Herbal Essence commercial four times, then I was finally able to see the video; then when I tried to see the video again, it showed me some kind of toothpaste commercial. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/24 "2006-09-06T18:46:46Z")
[QUOTE=Rocketeer] That’s a heck of a site. It showed me an Herbal Essence commercial four times, then I was finally able to see the video; then when I tried to see the video again, it showed me some kind of toothpaste commercial. :mad: [/QUOTE] Wassamatter, can’t you take a hint? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/25 "2006-09-06T18:46:55Z")
**Subway** , a late hit is just that. After a play has ended, you hit someone. It’s bad because, unlike when the play is occuring, the hittee isn’t expecting to get hit, and his/her guard is down. It is one of a category of cheap shots. Cheap shots are often illegal (by the rules of the sport) or unethical playstyles that are used to intimidate, humiliate, and/or infuriate the other team. Having played hockey goalie in my youth, I saw first hand how cheap shot artists would operate behind the refs backs, goading the opposing player into a penalty out of anger or retaliation. It seemed the referees only ever caught the ‘second’, retaliatory hit (not entirely true, but often enough). ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/26 "2006-09-06T18:47:38Z")
[QUOTE=js\_africanus] It seems pre-meditated because of the speed with which it happened. [/QUOTE] See, I would assume just the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/27 "2006-09-06T18:58:56Z")
[QUOTE=Subway Prophet] 😕 Please pardon (or fight) my ignorance - what’s a “late hit”, or “cheap shot”, in football? And why are they bad? [/QUOTE] A “late hit” is a penalty. After the ball carrier is tackled, the ref blows the whistle and the play is officially over. If you hit a guy after the whistle, it’s a late hit. A “cheap shot” is anything cheap. It might not be a technical rule violation, but is usually outside the spirit of the game. It’s an umbrella term that refers to things that are sometimes penalties (like most late hits) and sometimes aren’t penalties. Like when Joey Porter shoved a visibly injured Todd Heap during a Steelers-Ravens game a couple years back. Or when a guy makes a vicious block on a player who isn’t involved in the play (like the guy did to Brett Favre a fews years back). What I want to see is more of that video. Everytime I’ve seen it, it stops with the father backing off into that defensive position. The tape must keep rolling. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/28 "2006-09-06T19:00:32Z")
[QUOTE=Frank] See, I would assume just the opposite. [/QUOTE] I assume that **js** is saying that the coach had been keying on that player and was just waiting for his chance. He already had it planned that he’d do it one of these times. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/29 "2006-09-06T19:38:41Z")
All I get when I click on the video link is a Listerine commercial. Does youtube have it? ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/30 "2006-09-06T19:39:57Z")
[QUOTE=Trunk] What I want to see is more of that video. Everytime I’ve seen it, it stops with the father backing off into that defensive position. The tape must keep rolling. [/QUOTE] Nope, the guy that taped it ended up involved in the fracas. The guy was beaten or at least tackled by other parents. This town is Football nuts. It’s been all over the radio since it happened, you’d be surprised how many parents were admitting on air that they might have done the same thing, they were the minority though. I have two kids playing football this year, for some reason though, my neighborhood plays in a different league than the rest of Stockton. I don’t think our league allows parents to coach their sons, but it’s somethng I’ll look up now. Part of the problem was that guy was a coach, so he was already on the sidelines. Most of the spectators would have been in the stands as all the teams here play at the local high schools. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/31 "2006-09-06T19:45:55Z")
[QUOTE=teela brown] All I get when I click on the video link is a Listerine commercial. Does youtube have it? [/QUOTE] Try this [one](http://cbs13.com/video). Bottom right. ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/32 "2006-09-06T20:47:03Z")
My oldest daughter is on crutches and will miss the entire soccer season at both her school and her select team because some low class player who was trying out for the school team couldn’t beat her and took a hand full of jersey and yanked her to the ground. God I wanted to kick the shit out of that kid and her parents. Still might sue their asses for medical expenses and pain and suffering. I fully underdtand where that guy is coming from. Oh and no apologies from the kid. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/33 "2006-09-06T22:06:33Z")
There’s a difference between wanting to get medievil on someone, and actually getting medievil on that person. I desire to mete out swift, immediate, and painful justice quite often. I know I’m better off staying my hand (as both jail and getting my ass handed to me are negative consequences of such actions). ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/34 "2006-09-06T22:39:05Z")
[QUOTE=Stuffy] Try this [one](http://cbs13.com/video). Bottom right. [/QUOTE] Thanks, **Stuffy**. ::watches video:: Yeowtch! Times two! ---
**Author:** ![Brandon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f08c70/32.png) [@Brandon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brandon)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/35 "2006-09-07T04:49:30Z")
Some classic replies in this thread, had me and a couple of cow-orkers cracking up with your responses. I do think it’s hillarious that he ran to the hills as opposed to paying the piper for what he had done. You could see in his face he realized that maybe hitting a kid from behind wasn’t the smartest move he ever made right after he did it. In my opinion as a non-parent it would be hard to watch your kid get cheap-shotted like that (and it is a cheap shot it’s nowhere near the play and the ball was dead for far too long) but it still didn’t cross the realm into parental involvement. It’s hard to say when that is, but I would say if the cheap shot artist started stomping the kid after hitting him then I could understand and expect a dad to rush the field. In my opinion the poor kid should have his teamates backing him up on that play (though granted there wasn’t enough time for them to). From my hockey experiences a cheap-shot like that can not and would not be tolerated, and you have to let the offender know that the game will not be played in that manner. The difference is it’s the players involved that enforce the game, not the parents. I also believe the kid was probably a little bugger and the dad had been getting progressively worked up watching his antics. There are known cheap-shot artists in leagues where teams play and know each other for a duration of time and he may have been one of them. The father did react awfully fast so he must have been steeling his nerves to go layeth the smacketh down and his kid getting popped must have set him off. Just my opinion. To those having trouble with the advertisements, my appologies. I had to deal with one commercial twice when opening the page and the third time none at all. I wasn’t knowingly setting you up to be indoctrinated by the evils of hygiene (which the ads I got had nothing to do with). ---
**Author:** ![ignoramus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@ignoramus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ignoramus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/36 "2006-09-07T10:38:58Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] Regardless of the reason for the late hit, ND should be imprisoned for a period of time commensurate with local statutes and his previous offender status (if any), should forever carry an assault record, and should be barred from attending child sporting competitions. [/QUOTE] While I can see the sense in not wanting to have the guy coaching or present at games does pushing a kid to the ground, who then appears to get up again immediately, really warrant jail time? For me pushing a well-padded child over on grass does not constitute ‘child abuse’ - I mean that’s up there with rape as a horrible thing to have on your record… ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/37 "2006-09-07T12:53:48Z")
[QUOTE=ignoramus] While I can see the sense in not wanting to have the guy coaching or present at games does pushing a kid to the ground, who then appears to get up again immediately, really warrant jail time? For me pushing a well-padded child over on grass does not constitute ‘child abuse’ - I mean that’s up there with rape as a horrible thing to have on your record… [/QUOTE] It looked to me like it didn’t just push the kid down. He ran out and HIT the kid and hit him hard. Padded or not, that kid took a hard hit and a hard fall from a parent and a coach who should have known better. Personally I hope the guy gets the book thrown at him. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/38 "2006-09-07T13:27:30Z")
[QUOTE=ignoramus] While I can see the sense in not wanting to have the guy coaching or present at games does pushing a kid to the ground, who then appears to get up again immediately, really warrant jail time? [/QUOTE] I think that’s a valid question. Like **Dragwyr** , I don’t see that as simply shoving kid down; he hit him hard enough to make the kid bounce like a skipping stone. More importantly, there’s the problem of when to draw the line, because once we say it’s not so bad since the kid was padded, we open that up as an excuse to be used after the fact, in an ad hoc fashion, even when the adult intended to hurt the child. So, even if it were harsh to send him to the hoosegow for a year (which I don’t agree it would be), it would still be appropriate for preventing moral hazard > [@Brandon](#): > > I do think it’s hillarious that he ran to the hills… I think what was going through his mind through the whole episode must have been something like this: “Breaking the law, breaking the law! Breaking the law, breaking the law! …Uh-oh… Run to the hills!! Run for your lives!!” ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/39 "2006-09-07T13:37:23Z")
I know whenever I’m blindsiding an 11 year old, I’m thinking Judas Priest and Iron Maiden 😃 Yes, Nimrod Dad should do jail time and have a record, \*_ignoramus_. Sometimes, the law needs to make examples and send messages about what is wholly unacceptable. When someone does something this boneheaded, he’s just asking to be the courier of that message. Too many parents get far too invested in these games, and they need to know that there will be consequences when the cross the line from obnoxiousness into thuggery. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2006, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605/40 "2006-09-07T14:08:02Z")
[QUOTE=D\_Odds] Sometimes, the law needs to make examples and send messages about what is wholly unacceptable. When someone does something this boneheaded, he’s just asking to be the courier of that message. [/QUOTE] So, I guess this is one of those situations where we _should_ shoot the messenger. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/football-dad-hits-kid/371605.md?page=3)