A father from North Carolina tackled a high school student during a wrestling match after an illegal move was done on the man’s son on Friday. Barry Lee Jones was arrested the following day and charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct, according to WTKR.com. The video of the incident went viral, showing one wrestler suplexing his opponent to the ground, causing him to land on his neck/back area. The wrestler being suplexed appears to be Jones’s son, as Jones is then seen charging the wrestler and bringing him down.
The student who was tackled by Jones was not injured and Jones was released on $1,000 bond. The wrestling coaches and principals did not comment on the incident, but the Superintendent of Schools for Guilford County, North Carolina, said she was disappointed something like this happened.
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“It’s very unfortunate, and it just shows a society that I feel sometimes we’re just losing all decorum,” Sharon Contreras told FOX8 via CBS Sports. “I want to say that the parents from that high school wrote us a lovely letter saying they were equally appalled. It’s not who they are as a community. And I certainly apologize to the students at both high schools who experienced that, particularly the student who was attacked.”
The video led to some interesting reactions on WTKR’s Facebook page. One person wrote: “That’s a tough situation.. that was a very illegal reckless move to body slam someone on their head. Because of the timing of how is reacted, for me I think he went on auto pilot to defend his kid.. it’s incredibly hard to watch your child get hurt by someone’s wrong doing and sit still. I’m not saying it was ok what he did, I am saying I understand. Me personally I would think to run to my child 1st to see if he was ok. However, again I can only assume I would.. I hope his kid is ok.”
“This parent is the reason that kids receive participation trophies,” another person wrote. “If the parents could control themselves, the kids would also have the coping skills.”
“Comes with the territory,” another Facebook user added. “The illegal move kid should be disqualified and banned from the sport but it’s a contact sport that come with some risks. Dad was wrong.”
It’s very likely Jones will be suspended from attending wrestling events in the area for the foreseeable future.
