Football league official: Attack on coach, gunfire shook up some children

The Greater Wichita Junior Football League will treat this weekend’s games “just like any other Saturday” despite a coach being physically assaulted at a practice earlier this week and his wife firing a shot into the air to stop the attack, the organization’s athletic director said Friday.

“I think this was an isolated incident,” Mickey Lara said of the incident that occurred during a youth league team’s practice at Linwood Park on Monday night. “It did happen, but I don’t think it’s something that will be a normal occurrence by any means.”

A woman upset that her son was not allowed to play in last Saturday’s season opener for a different team confronted the coach for a rival team, thinking he was responsible for her son not playing, police have said. After a heated argument, the woman left.

Police were called to the park to document the incident. About 20 minutes after officers left, a group of five to six men showed up at the park and asked who had argued with the woman earlier.

They then attacked the 37-year-old coach. One man lifted his shirt to display a handgun tucked into his pants before the beating began, police have said. One of the others used a set of brass knuckles in the assault.

The coach’s wife pulled out a gun and fired a shot in the air, halting the attack. The coach then went to his car and retrieved another gun, which he pointed at numerous people in the crowd.

The attackers left before police arrived.

The youth league has teams for students in the first through eighth grades, and there were children of a wide range of ages at the park when the attack occurred.

“I’ve talked to a lot of parents” since the incident occurred, Lara said. “Some parents have told me their kids are a little shaken up by it.”

Other children seem to have realized what happened was an unusual occurrence and have put it behind them.

The coach who was attacked offered to resign — for safety reasons, Lara said — and his resignation was accepted.

Lara would not answer questions about whether he thought the reactions of the coach and his wife were appropriate given the circumstances.

“Per city ordinance, it is legal (to carry a gun) if they do have a permit,” Lara said.

Both the coach and his wife have concealed-carry permits, police have said.

While no arrests have yet been made in the incident, Lt. James Espinoza said arrests will be made. Several people have been banned from youth league activities for their role in the attack.

The Tigers organization has moved its practices away from Linwood Park for safety reasons, Lara said. There are no plans to add security for youth league team practices, he said, because there are so many.

“It just isn’t doable,” he said.

But law enforcement officers will be on hand for security at league games, as they have been for the past six years.

“We want people to have a great experience,” Lara said. “Like any other sport, there’s parents out there that think that everything is riding on these games. It’s not something we condone.

“Parents and coaches have to realize they are role models for these kids.”

This story was originally published September 12, 2014 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Football league official: Attack on coach, gunfire shook up some children."