A flag football game in Revere, Massachusetts, took a hard turn from "flag" to "football" on Saturday, when a referee and a coach got physical over a disputed call. Adults separated the two while several kids watched, and a grandparent caught it on video.
Per NewsCenter 5, the argument started over a blitz call. The referee, Jeff Etienne, says the coach got in his face, he pushed back, and he should have just walked away.
What we know
- The altercation happened Saturday during a youth flag football game in Revere, Massachusetts, according to NewsCenter 5.
- A grandparent of one of the players recorded video showing a group of adults pulling the two men apart.
- Witnesses told the station the coach, who leads one of the Mass Outlaws teams, began yelling at Etienne about the play and wouldn't back off.
- Etienne said he pushed the coach away in self-defense, but admitted he should have done what he's done with other yelling coaches over the years: walk away.
- Mass Outlaws said in a statement that the dispute centered on a blitz ruling that went in its favor and then flipped to the other team within the same play. The organization said things escalated fast and the game was stopped.
- The grandparent, who asked not to be identified, told the station they were "totally outraged" by what they saw.
The aftermath
Etienne, who says he has officiated flag football for 20 years, told NewsCenter 5 this was a first for him, and he promised it would be the last. After the game, he said, he and the coach talked it out, apologized to each other, and hugged before heading home.
Mass Outlaws said the incident doesn't reflect the standards it holds for its athletes, and described both men as level-headed, positive presences around the players. The organization said a heat-of-the-moment blowup can overshadow the good stuff youth sports offers.
Etienne closed with the kind of perspective that gets lost somewhere around the second quarter. Nobody is playing for millions or suiting up for the NFL, he said. It's youth sports, the kids are there to learn and have fun, and the adults shouldn't make it about themselves.
The bottom line
Blitz rules in flag football are already a recipe for a sideline debate, and one flipped call apparently was enough to turn it into a full-on scrum. The good news is the post-game hug. The bad news is that there's video, and it's one more reminder that every kid on that field watched the grown-ups lose it over a game that ends with orange slices.
Source: Apple-News