A New York high school football coach has been removed from his position after an incident where he allegedly attacked a player on an opposing team.
Newsday reports that Shoreham-Wading River (N.Y.) High School and Islip High School were playing one another in a football scrimmage on Aug. 30 when a scuffle broke out between the teams. That’s when Shoreham-Wading River coach Aden Smith allegedly grabbed an Islip player by the neck, shaking him back and forth before the player was eventually knocked to the ground.
Richard and Adele Valenzuela, whose son Richie was the player who was grabbed, recounted what their son had told them of the incident to Newsday.
“Out of nowhere he said the coach came running toward him, grabbed him in the neck area and started shaking him back and forth, back and forth,” Richard Valenzuela told Newsday. “My son said he was in shock. Total shock.”
The Valenzuelas were not present at the time of the incident, but reported what Richie had told them to a school official.
Smith was removed from his position as head football coach on Friday. The move was announced by school superintendent Gerard Poole, who said that the district is investigating the alleged incident.
“We don’t want this to happen again to anyone by this coach,” Adele Valenzuela told Newsday. “I would feel bad if this happened to another player.”
