Youth sports are supposed to be a really positive experience. Kids learn about leadership and teamwork while growing as individuals and enjoying the sports they love.
Sadly, the adults who get involved in youth sports are often the problem. We've seen plenty of cases of coaches getting carried away. Sometimes, their expectations are too high for kids to meet. Other times, they get so passionate that they lose their cool with other adults on the field.
There is absolutely no excuse, however, for an adult to lose their cool with a child and strike out physically. Yet that's exactly what happened at the American Youth Football National Championships in Kissimmee, Florida.
Footage shared to Twitter shows a 9-year-old player on the Savannah Gators being repeatedly hit in the head by one of his coaches. It's making the rounds online and drawing a lot of ire. Professional athletes have spoken out against the disgusting video, including LeBron James. LeBron, who is known for being involved in youth sports with his own kids in addition to his own stellar career, slammed the coach behind the incident.
An incident at a youth football competition has outraged many. Footage was taken and shared online of a coach, who has not been publicly identified, repeatedly striking a 9-year-old player. Although the player was wearing a helmet and therefore wasn't injured, it was an embarrassing and entirely inappropriate situation that should have never happened.
The footage was captured at the American Youth Football National Championships in Kissimmee, Florida. It may be difficult for some viewers to watch.
The Savannah Gators, the team the boy was on, traveled from Georgia to Florida to compete in the event. It's unclear during which of the team's two games the incident occurred.
The visual was deeply hurtful to many people, so it wasn't long until the video ended up going viral. People were questioning whether or not that was the coach's child and if this was a regular occurrence. Many were concerned other players on the team might be facing the same thing behind the scenes.
The backlash spilled onto the Gators' Facebook page, where the organization tried to get control of the situation. Its response further angered many.
"Please keep the negative comments off this page," the post urged.
"This organization has great coaches. We understand what we all saw yesterday was disturbing to us all but let's not blame everyone for one man's actions."
LeBron James shared the video and his commentary on his Instagram stories. "Ain't no way. Couldn't be my kid," he wrote.
"If I there and it's not even my kid we gone have more than words for sure."
LeBron shared the post from Shannon Sharpe, who also had strong feelings about the incident. He strongly stated it didn't matter whether or not it was the coach's kid.
"I'll whip him even IF* that's his kid," he said.
"I won't let anyone [prey] on the weak or vulnerable in front of me. Not going to happen."
The coach issued an apology of his own in a Facebook Live session on Wednesday morning.
"At the end of the day, I am a man. I'm not going to make no excuses for what I did," he said.
"I was wrong. I shouldn't have disciplined him in public. I should have waited until we got back to discipline him for doing what he did."
The coach claimed that both the player and his family have forgiven him. Still, he was terminated from the position as the public backlash continued to flood the organization. May it be a lesson learned.
