Youth Football Player Caught on Tape Deliberately Kicking Opponent in Head

SEDALIA, MO (KCTV) – Playing sports can be violent, but players are not supposed to kick another in the head after referee blows the whistle.Keesha Martin understands football can be a tough game, but she says one player went too far and the league didn’t handle it properly. So she posted a video to KCTV5’s Facebook page, and that was when the league changed their decision. The moment of unsportsmanlike conducted happened during an Oct. 5 matchup between the Sedalia Broncos and the Moniteau Monsters. In the video, Martin’s 12-year-old son, Maurice, is seen thrown to the ground and kicked in the head. It happened after the whistle was blown. “For a boy of this age to have responded in this manner was just totally out of line and deliberate,” Martin said. Martin was understandably upset by what she calls an unnecessary assault. Both players were ejected, one for unsportsmanlike conduct and Maurice for removing his helmet and cursing. Martin has no problem with her son being punished. “He broke that rule. He should have been ejected from the game,” she said. However, Martin said she was told the other player would be suspended for the next two games. But she said a friend saw the player on the field at a game shortly after the confrontation. “Honestly, I was angry because I felt like we were lied to,” she said. Sedalia Football League commissioner Jimmy Brown said the one-game suspension for the player in question was adequate punishment. But another board member emailed Martin saying, “I wish we would have had this video right away. We will look into it again.” Brown later told KCTV5’s Dave Jordan by phone late Monday evening that they reviewed the video again, and the player was suspended for the rest of the season. Martin is pleased with the additional punishment but said it should have happened before KCTV5 started asking questions. “It saddens me that it came to this to bring accountability to the commissioner and the board,” she said. Maurice’s team, the undefeated Broncos, have two more games left in the season. He will play in those games. His parents haven’t yet decided if he’ll be back next year. Martin said her son did suffer a concussion and went to the hospital, but should be OK.