Adults Brawl After Boys Soccer Match; 2 Hurt
Tired and sweaty, the boys of the AYSO Palmdale Eagles and Chino Hills Chiefs had just finished the customary end-of-game handshake when the adults starting throwing punches.
In what authorities say is another example of the parental violence that has increasingly marred youth sporting events, officials said more than 30 parents and coaches clashed in a fight that ended in the arrest of three adults at a San Juan Capistrano soccer field Sunday.
The violence broke out after an assistant coach for the Chino Hills team allegedly tried to pick a fight with a Palmdale player, officials said. In reaction, parents from the Palmdale team rushed onto the field to “defuse the tension,” said Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino. But that caused more parents to join in, with one swinging a metal rod.
One parent needed treatment for minor cuts and a swollen eye and another suffered a two-inch bite on his arm, Amormino said. Deputies arrested one parent on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and two others on suspicion of resisting arrest.
“It was a free-for-all,” Amormino said. “This is just a kids’ game. Youth sports should teach sportsmanship and character, and the parents should be learning from that.”
Violence by adults at youth sports events has generated growing concern in recent years, prompting some leagues to restrict what parents can say at games. Some leagues have stopped keeping score to reduce fan competitiveness.
The Sunday brawl occurred at the end of a regional championship featuring 14-year-olds in an American Youth Soccer Organization league. According to Amormino, events unfolded like this:
The fighting began soon after the final whistle blew about 4:30 p.m. As the boys left the field, an assistant coach with the Chiefs allegedly taunted an Eagles player. Witnesses told deputies that the coach bumped into the player and then tried to hit the boy.
Stunned, a group of Palmdale parents sprinted across the field to intervene. As one parent rebuked the coach, a Chino Hills parent--later identified as Mark Kaylor, 40--allegedly swung a silver metal rod at him. The first swing missed. A second struck the parent on the head.
Kaylor allegedly jumped on the unidentified parent and punched him several times. Other parents and coaches joined the brawl, trying to pry Kaylor away.
A few adults managed to sit on Kaylor until he promised to cool off. But as they loosened their grip, Kaylor bit one on the biceps, drawing blood, police said.
By the time sheriff’s deputies arrived, 150 people were in the center of the field, Amormino said. Kaylor tried to slip away with his wife and child, but other parents pointed him out to deputies. Kaylor was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and released from Orange County jail Monday after posting bail.
More deputies arrived amid the confusion. Officials said the deputies spotted another man leaving the field covered in grass and nursing a cut on his bare back.
When they tried to detain him, the man allegedly broke free and began to run, authorities said. His sister tried to help him escape, and deputies eventually arrested the pair on suspicion of resisting arrest. Sheriff’s officials identified them as David Richard Vargas, 19, and Margaret Jessica Ramirez, 20.
Sheriff’s officials said late Tuesday that a judge had ordered Ramirez released from jail. Vargas remained behind bars in lieu of $500 bail.
Vargas, Ramirez and Kaylor could not be reached for comment, nor could coaches for the two teams.
The melee is the latest in a string of violent disruptions during youth sports events to capture headlines.
In one highly publicized incident a year ago in Massachusetts, the father of a youth hockey player allegedly beat another young player’s father to death during an argument over rough play on the ice.
Last year, the father of a Northridge Little League player was sentenced to 45 days in jail for attacking and threatening to kill his son’s coach because his son was only allowed to play three innings of a six-inning game.
Some sports leagues are trying to reduce tensions.
A basketball league in Orange County tried a program in which parents can only applaud at matches. A Mission Viejo soccer league has stopped recording scores for players under 14. And a Florida league requires parents to take classes on how to behave at events.
Times staff writers Monte Morin and Richard Fausset contributed to this report.
