INFORMATION #1 10-21-2002 ELK RIVER, MINN.
'Soccer
dad'
cites a
wrong
Suit faults comments
after confronting son
BY HANNAH ALLAM
Pioneer Press
An Elk River, Minn., father
accused of grabbing and yelling
at his son during a game is suing
the Minnesota .Youth: Soccer
Association andothers, claiming
his right to:.ffee Speech; Was vio-
lated by other parents who said
he should be banned from coach:
ing.
Eric Hawkins said a complaint
brought to the association after
he confronted his 10-year-old son
during a game in May violates
his free speech rights, according
to a lawsuit filed Thursday in fed-
erai court in Minneapolis.
Although association officials
found accusations of verbal and
physical abuse without merit,
according to court papers, a
hearing board decided that
Hawkins violated conduct codes
on inappropriate language and
harassment of club players and
coaches.
Hawkins, 39, did not return a
phone message seeking com-
ment. Ellie Singer, .president of
the Minnetonka-based associa-
'SOCCER DAD,' 5B
NFORMATION
'Soccer dad'
tion, said she has no informa-
tion about the lawsuit and no
comment.
The conduct of parents and
coaches has received national
attention in cases where the pres-
sure of youth sports resulted in
physical harm and even murder.
One of the most publicized
instances was the January con-
viction of a Massachusetts man
in the beating death of his 10-
year-old son's hockey coach.
There are dozens of other reports
of coaches attacking parents, par-
ents attacking officials and play-
ers attacking one another. '
Such instances leave many
parents and players calling for a
return to sportsmanship and
the creation of complex ethics
and eonduet codes for youth
sports.
The Minnesota Youth Soccer
Association has an Il-point
ethics code for coaches that
includes the words, "Coaches
shall refrain from all manner of
personal abuse and harassment
of others."
Hawkins' case stems from a
May 28 soccer game in which
boys younger than 11 from the
Elk River United Soccer Club
played against their counter-
parts from the Maplebrook Soc-
cer Association. Hawkins
coached the Elk River team,
which included his son Jacob..
During a break in the game,
Hawkins noticed Jacob break-
ing an unspecified family rule
that was not "related to the cur-
rent game under way or related
to the game of soccer in gener-
al,'' Hawkins wrote in court
papers. As players prepared for
the second half, Hawkins
warned his son that he wouldn't
be allowed to play soccer if he
broke the rule again.
When Jacob looked away in
disgust, according to court
papers, Hawkins grabbed his
son's shirt and twice asked, "Do
you understand me?" As soon as
the conversation ended, Tanya
Peplinski, the Maplebrook coach,
approached Hawkins, yelling,
"That's physical abuse!" court
papers state. Hawkins told Peplin-
ski to mind her own business.
The next month, Peplinski
and the Maplebrook soccer
board filed a complaint with the
Minnesota Youth Soccer Associ-
ation, accusing Hawkins of '%~er-
bally abusing players, verbally
abusing opposing coaches and
physically assaulting a player."
Peplinski, who could not be
reached for comment, and the
others asked for a lifetime coach-
ing suspension for Hawkins.
A subsequent letter from the
association's hearing board
found the most serious accusa-
tions without merit, but
stressed that, "the actions of
grabbing a player's shirt, even if
it is a relative, is an unwanted
act during a game," according
to court papers.
Hawkins wrote that the accu-
sations caused him "loss of
enjoyment of life, humiliation,
embarrassment and injury to
reputation."
Hawkins didn't specify dam-
ages.
Hannah Allam can be reached at
hallam@pionee¢press, com or
(65I) 228-2172.