As someone who has officiated both youth and adult sports for 30 plus years, I'm not surprised by the antics of the coaches. And, it seems that the younger the players, the worse the parents behave. I've heard the parents of ten year olds yell at their progeny to take the opponent out, to give them an elbow, etc. I've also heard parents bellowing at officials (usually the new ones, maybe the high school kids) when it's clear the parents don't know the rules, and are quite unclear on the concepts of "it's a game" and "sportsmanship."

Many of my fellow veteran officials have started to talk of hanging up the whistle - not because of our aching knees, but this very behavior from parents and coaches.

A friend of mine coaches kid's soccer, and he's noticed the same vile behavior. The kids are having a blast and getting along wonderfully, while the parents are trying to set each other on fire. While I sympathize with these kids and their disappointment with not being able to play, I also hope that when the trolls who started this altercation start mouthing off, at least one kid will have the presence of mind to yell "Shut up, Dad!"

And here I thought this kind of behavior was only exclusive to little league baseball.

The right decision to ban further participation by the teams. If the coaches don't understand the concept of consequences for their actions, how can the kids ever be expected to. What a nutty display by the parent coaches. They should be charged with disorderly conduct just for traumatizing the young players. Indeed there should be a specific misdemeanor charge for adults initiating or inciting violence at youth sports events. It's shameless, and will only drive guys like "umpire" away from a valuable public service.

Both of our grandsons play Pop Warner football. All the players do just fine. They abide by the rules of sportsmanship set for them by adults. I've yet to see a player act out. The parents and coaches are another story. Yes, I too have heard parents yell out..."take out #32, Jason!". I sit on the sideline in my canvas fold-out chair sometimes and wonder how I'd react if I heard someone ask their son to injure MY grandson.

The Kids Are All Right. The adults are idiots.

I couldn't tell if that was a Pee-Wee football game or if a fight broke out at a Fat Farm. Are any of the dads involved here under a 35 BMI?

BobM: Speaking from experience, when you hear somebody encourage their kid to injure your kid, you get instantly and thoroughly angry, and even if you are a reserved person, you can't help but confront the other parent.

I think part of the problem is that parents are hoping for college scholarships for their kids. They get so focused on the dollar signs that everything else gets blotted out.