Man slugs kid's football coach over playing time
newsday.com
Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Furl Google Newsvine Reddit Spurl Yahoo Print Single page view Reprints Reader feedback Text size: COLTS NECK, N.J. (AP) _ Upset over how much time his son was getting in a Pop Warner football game, police say a man punched the boy's coach, knocking him unconscious for about 30 minutes.
Mario Romano of Colts Neck, who serves as the local football league's vice president of football operations, was arrested following the Sunday afternoon incident at Colts Neck High School.
He was charged with assault while attending a community-sponsored youth sporting event while juveniles under 16 were present. A 2003 law designed to combat violence at youth sports events upgraded any assault in the presence of someone younger than 16, or at a school or community-sponsored sporting event, from a disorderly conduct charge to a fourth-degree offense.
Romano could be sentenced to 18 months in prison and fined $10,000 if convicted.
"My client denies any wrongdoing in this incident," Raymond Santiago, Romano's attorney, told the Asbury Park Press for Tuesday's newspapers. "Obviously there are two sides to the story. There are witnesses that will corroborate that he had no wrongdoing in the matter."
The coach had to be taken to a hospital, where he was treated and released.
The case is scheduled to be heard in municipal court, but authorities said it might be transferred to state Superior Court due to the seriousness of the allegation.
* * * |
