Charges Should be Filed Against Gainesville, Ga., Woman for Slapping Referee, James Hayes, at Soccer Game at Central Park

Gainesville, Ga., woman slapped referee James Hayes for failing to make call at soccer game at Central Park during tournament.

It is a sad commentary when a parent slaps a referee at a soccer match. A Gainesville, Ga., woman is accused of slapping a referee, James Hayes, during a soccer match at Central Park, in which her daughter was playing. She was upset that the referee did not stop play when her 10 year old daughter was knocked down by a soccer ball during the game. The team the woman's child plays on a Lanier Sharks soccer team. The team should ban this woman and her kid from ever representing the club in any future games. The woman, whose name has not been disclosed, is reportedly 39 years old and I might add, a thug. Of course, she left the scene before deputies arrived and was not arrested. I know parents can get emotional during games, especially tournaments, but what has this parent taught her daughter? When she doesn't get her way it's okay to slap the person standing in her way. That's just wrong. Besides, the ref could not call timeout after the incident because the other team had control of the ball. Those are the rules and if parents don't know them, they should spend some time researching that information on the Internet before acting like a fool.

Shameful. Absolutely shameful but not surprising. According to media reports, witnesses said the referee assaulted by this thug had a bloody lip after the encounter. It was also reported that parents of another player on the same team were ejected by the same referee the day before for uncouth behavior. My two sons play soccer at United Futbol Academy that manages the Central Park fields, as well as some fields in South Forsyth and the Polo Fields, and they have played against some teams where the players were not only overly aggressive and rude, but the parents were just as aggressive. My older son played a game against the NGSA Rapids 97- CL III game at the North Georgia Soccer Association in Clarkesville, Ga., and I must say, I was beginning to get scared being in that area. The parents were rude and argumentative and some of the players were spitting at some of the kids on my son's team. That game was, by far, one of the worst I have ever attended and I was genuinely worried for our boys. Clarkesville is in the boondocks and not where I feel comfortable being as a black woman.

The behavior exhibited by that parent at the Central Park game continues unchecked at soccer matches across this city. Maybe the referees don't get slapped, but some are belittled, when they make questionable calls or fail to make calls. Some parents have lost sight of the intent of these games -- for the kids to have fun. The reality this isn't limited to soccer, but to all sports, including football. I hope the referee will press charges against this woman and not let this go. She should be banned from attending any more games. It is time for a strong message to be sent to these parents. They take the fun out of the whole experience. How can you teach your child to be competitive, but respectful and fair, when you are assaulting someone? As they say, the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree and I can well see what will happen to this child if her mother doesn't change her ways.