Man arrested after crash-tackling son's opponent at high school wrestling match
A North Carolina man has been charged with assault after he charged onto the mat at a high school wrestling match and tackled his son's opponent.
Barry Lee Jones was charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct on Saturday, according to Kannapolis Police Department records.
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He's accused of assaulting a Southeast Guilford High School student who was facing off against his son, a student at Hickory Ridge High School, a police department statement obtained by news outlets said.
Video from the match shows the opponent lifting Jones' son and dropping him head-first to the mat before Jones rushes in and tackles the teenager.
The referee had signalled that the Southeast Guilford athlete's move was illegal, according to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.
Neither student was seriously injured, police said.
Parents apologise over ‘inconceivable’ act
Hickory Ridge Wrestling Team parents apologised to Southeast Guilford wrestlers and administrators in a Facebook post, saying the parent's “inconceivable” actions left them “in shock, horror and disbelief.”
Administrators from Hickory Ridge haven't publicly commented.
The Guilford County Schools' superintendent, in an interview with WGHP-TV, thanked the parents who apologised for the “unfortunate” incident.
"It just shows a society that I feel sometimes we're just losing all decorum," Superintendent Sharon Contreras said.
UPDATE: man pictured -- Barry Lee Jones -- is now due in court in March to face simple assault and disorderly conduct charges after he's seen on video and according to witnesses charging a student during a wrestling match over the weekend. https://t.co/AbngNojB4v pic.twitter.com/9OAFDUEZ4y
— Rachel Lundberg (@RachelLLundberg) January 20, 2020