ROCKLIN, Calif. - Shocking video captures the moment a parent sitting court side at a youth basketball tournament in California appears to trip a player from the competing team.
Players, coaches and parents from the Cornerstone Basketball Academy based in Vallejo traveled miles away to take part in the Hardwood Palace tournament Saturday against the Folsom Elite Basketball Academy.
"This specific team is our 10-year-old and under team," said Eugene Solano, the director of the Vallejo team.
Solano told KTXL he was first notified by his players during the game of unsportsmanlike conduct from a parent sitting on the bench.
"One of the kids during one of the timeouts had said, 'Hey coach, there's a parent on the sideline, it's a woman you know, I think she's wearing a pink hat,' pretty specific. 'And she’s telling their kids to elbow us in the face,'" he recalled.
Solano said coaches and parents often record video highlights to show back to their kids. The same footage also showed the woman in the pink hat appearing to stick out her foot while a 9-year-old Vallejo player dribbles the ball past her.
"Is this a specific incident that occurred with this particular parent and are there other parents who take child or youth athletics this seriously where you would actually attempt to harm a child?" Solano said.
Both directors from the Folsom Elite Basketball Academy issued a joint statement in response to the footage, saying:
We have been made aware of the video and we have addressed the situation with the parent involved directly. It is our policy to manage all disciplinary matters in a way that is effective and productive so we can eliminate incidents in the future but this is an internal club matter and out of respect for the privacy of the people involved we will not be commenting any further.
The general manager of Hardwood Palace was also notified about the incident. He said they’ve asked that the woman not be allowed to return to a tournament. He went on to say both organizations are great teams that hold their members accountable.
