Florida youth football coach charged with assault for knocking referee to the ground with vicious slap to the face
A Florida youth football coach was arrested and charged with assault on Monday after video surfaced showing him attacking a referee and slapping him so forcefully that it knocked the referee in question to the ground.
As reported by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, 43-year-old Dion Robinson, an assistant coach for a team in the West Park Youth Football League, was arrested and charged with assault in connection with an incident in which he attacked youth football referee Andrew Keigans.
According to the newspaper, Keigans had just thrown a penalty flag for unsportsmanlike conduct against the West Park Saints, for which Robinson was an assistant coach, when Robinson rushed onto the field and attacked the ref.
The game was officially brought to a halt as soon as Robinson came onto the field, in accordance with league rules, but that didn't stop Robinson from rushing forward and landing a firm slap on Keigans' face, an attack which dropped Keigans directly to the ground, as you can see in the video above.
In the days since the assault, the focus has shifted from shock over what happened to why Robinson was even allowed to serve as a coach in the first place. West Park Sheriff Al Lamberti noted that Robinson had previously been convicted on charges of assault with a firearm, aggravated assault and cocaine distribution, yet he was still allowed to serve as a coach for a team of young football players.
"He was coaching the West Park Saints, but he was far from a saint," Lamberti told the Sun Sentinel. "He has got an extensive record. It calls into question, 'Was a background check ever done on Mr. Robinson?'
"Why was he allowed to have contact with kids?"
There has been no answer to those questions, though Robinson's days as a youth coach are now almost certainly behind him. Given his checkered past and the assault charge in front of him, a rush of blood to the head at a youth football game might land him behind bars, too.
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