Posted by
Emmett of the Unblinking Eye on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 4:24:10 PM
By now most of you have probably seen or heard the clip of the
irate father/coach knocking over a rival player during a youth football game in Stockton. Now admittedly this has nothing to do with the movies, but it's my blog and my opinion.
Now there is no dispute that the father/coach has some severe anger management issues. There is also no doubt that he should be banned from the league for life. And there is also no question that he should be arrested (and convicted) for assault and battery, both of which clearly happened. But
felony child abuse, which is defined in California Penal Code § 11165.6 to include "physical injury inflicted by other than accidental means upon a child by another person"? Was the boy "physically injured", given all of the padding he was wearing? If knocking down a boy in full football pads in a football game is "felony child abuse", what about the coaches who put him in that position? Are they guilty too?
In the good old pre-PC days, the father would be charged with good old fashioned assault and battery. But in this PC world, that just isn't good enough. You have to charge him with the fashionable crime of the decade, even if you can't possibly convict him of it because a crucial element is missing. A confusing time.