The parents and coaches at a Georgia Youth Football Alliance game in Hapeville, Ga. crossed the line between passionate and heated when a fight broke out after the match on Saturday morning. In a cell phone video shot by another parent, the adults are seen brawling on the field while the five-year-old players shake hands.
With the kids just a few feet away, the fight begins with a man dressed all in red throwing a punch at another adult. Other parents and coaches rush in, escalating it into a full-out brawl to the sounds of kids screaming. According to Channel 2 Action News, the fight started because some of the adults were upset by the results of the game.
“I feel like kids should never have to witness that,” said one mom, who was in the bleachers when it all happened and claims she saw one adult pull out a gun. “Parents (were) running, screaming, crying and trying to get somewhere safe and not knowing if the person that had a weapon — if they were going to shoot or not.”
Video shows a brawl at a youth football game in Hapeville over the weekend. Parents say it began with 2 coaches and then parents got involved. Other parents & children ran for safety when they say they saw weapons. https://t.co/LTTfi6dBk6 pic.twitter.com/8pcCD6e1bb
— Matt Johnson (@MattWSB) November 13, 2018
Adding “I think you should set a better example if you’re a coach,” she hopes that the coaches involved in the fight are removed from their positions and that security at games is taken more seriously moving forward, a concern shared by many parents. “There’s never any security so you don’t know who’s bringing weapons into the football games,” she says.
The Hapeville Police were called during the fight—however, most of the offending parents had already left the field. There have not yet been any reports of charges filed.
