The Killing of a Youth Football Coach

This past week I read yet another tragic story regarding youth sports. The brother of former NFL player Aqib Talib, Yaqib Talib, is accused of shooting and killing a youth football coach in Texas. According to a CBS news article written by Alexis Wainwright, there was a fight on the field following a disagreement with the coaching staff and officiating crew and Mr. Talib allegedly pulled out a gun and started shooting, killing the coach. All of this happened in front of nine-year old’s who are playing and watching the game.

In a Sports Illustrated article written by Joseph Salvador, Aqib Talib’s attorney released a statement that said “Aqib was present when is unfortunate incident occurred and is very distraught and devastated over this terrible loss of life”. Well, while I feel that’s a nice sentiment, the question is why is his brother carrying a weapon to a nine-year-old football game (please note that this is not a comment on gun control, but rather a blog on a youth sports tragedy)? I feel that the term “unfortunate incident” is a great understatement considering a man is dead over a supposed disputed call at a nine-year-old football game. Additionally, I have to ask what danger could Mr. Talib possibly have faced at a nine-year-old youth football game? And what possible call in that game could have been so bad that a man is now dead?

Initially, none of the stories that I read stated what started the fight that led to the coach being shot; however, in a follow up Sports Illustrated article, also written by Mr. Salvador, the confrontation started “over the score of the game” and Aqib Talib started the altercation because “he was upset over the officiating during the game and he ran across the field and got in the referees face.” Let’s break this down a bit. A former professional athlete runs across the field at a nine-year-old football game and gets in the referee’s face over the officiating during the game? Again, I ask what call could’ve been so disastrous that someone lost their life over a nine-year-old football game? According to the CBS article, the coach who was killed was a “good person who wanted to help the community and make people better” and he was a “happy, upbeat, good father, good husband who always stood up for what was right.”

Unfortunately, the other victims to this tragedy are the nine-year-old babies, and yes they are still babies, who witnessed this tragedy. According to the original CBS article it was reported that they have been “crying, worried, and don’t want to play football anymore. “These babies witnessed a tragedy that no one should have to witness and they will most likely be affected for the rest of their lives. Again, this all happened over a disputed call in a nine-year-old football game. This story is so sad that there is not much more that I can write about this tragedy. It doesn’t involve coaching strategies, or changing the way we coach our children, or if money is the route to the problems in youth sports today (in my opinion), but rather the craziness that is happening in the world today and the fact that people value life so little.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about a youth umpire in New Jersey who was punched and had his jaw broken over a disputed balk call in a youth baseball game and this week I’m writing about a coach who was killed over a disputed call in a youth football game.My question is, when is the craziness going to end?????