TARPON SPRINGS, Fla. — A fight broke out on the football field at Tarpon Springs High School after a man showed up to yell at his son on the bench, according to police.
Officers were called around 2:40 p.m. Thursday about a possible assault happening at the high school on Gulf Road. They arrived to find a football coach restraining a man on the ground.
Through an investigation, police found out that one of the school's football players, a 17-year-old boy, was not participating in practice due to an injury. The teen reportedly has been in his aunt's custody — on a temporary waiver awaiting a final court date — since July 20, 2023.
However, police said the student's father came to football practice and "began arguing and yelling" at his son.
At one point, the football coach and other witnesses saw the father pulling on his son with his hands around the teen's neck, the police department wrote. That's when the coach walked away from practice to approach the man.
When the coach told the man to stop touching his son, the man reportedly let go of the teen and kicked the coach. In an attempt to restrain him, the coach took the man to the ground and waited for police to arrive.
Tarpon Springs police said they are not releasing the man's name at this time in an effort to protect the teen's identity. He is charged with one count of child abuse.
According to police, the football coach did not want to pursue any charges.
The investigation is ongoing.
