Three coaches, player charged in football brawl

In last Friday's post, there was video of a football brawl in Sarasota, Fla. At the time, police had not determined who was at fault or what the whole story was. There is a much clearer picture now. Watch the story below from WTSP-TV in Tampa (email subscribers click here).



While this incident is an all-around mess, did you catch what the official charge is? Assaulting an athletic official is a felony in Florida. Now I'm no political expert, but I do know that most laws get passed as a reaction to a particularly heinous crime or series of crimes. The disrespect and subsequent assaults of athletic officials has become so bad that the Florida legislature saw fit to step in. This incident and others like it represent an epic failure on the part of adults to teach and lead young people. Football and other sports programs are supposed to help keep young people out of the criminal justice system - not put them in it! Unfortunately, another young man has become a statistic not because of gangs or drugs, but because of his coaches. The police and politicians have no business regulating youth and high school sports. That's our job. Let's start doing it! Until next time...

Be a Good Sport!

-Sol