An Otay Ranch youth football coach accused of being involved in a brawl at a game two months ago said Wednesday he didn't do anything wrong.
The fight broke out among adults in the stands at a 14-and-under football game Sept. 26. Chula Vista police were called to the scene, but no arrests were made and no one was taken to the hospital.
Both teams, the Otay Ranch Broncos and the Inland Empire Ducks, were expelled from the local San Diego Youth Football & Cheer (SDYFC) matchups for the rest of the season. However, officials with the American Youth Football (AYF), the national league, said the teams could play regional and national games.
Broncos Coach Marcel Hawkins spoke publicly for the first time Wednesday denying any involvement with the fight and questioning why he cannot attend the team's final game this weekend.
"I did not grab nobody. I did not have no one in no headlock. I did not touch anyone," he said.
"That's not me restraining anyone. I was being restrained," Hawkins said. "One of my coaches was moving me away from the situation that was happening."
Hawkins said he was not contacted by the league except for a letter saying he either accepts his suspension or his team would not be able to play.
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AYF says that Coach Hawkins admitted to an AYF Desert Pacific Regional Representative that he tried to hit someone that night but one of the other coaches grabbed him before he could.
The league released a statement that said in part, "At least one coach either struck and or attempted to strike a minor. A more prudent decision may have been to stay on the field with the team.”
Meanwhile, the National Action Network, a local civil rights group is protesting Hawkins’ suspension. They said he was never given clear reasons for his suspension or due process in the matter.
According to a statement released by the AYF, San Diego Youth Football & Cheer provided them with Coach Hawkins’ name as well as a parent from Otay Ranch that was involved in the fight.
The statement in part also said:
“AYF made further inquiry related to the involvement of the identified individuals and found that both had engaged in the altercation and were either actively involved in the fight or made attempts to engage in the fight. Moreover accounts state and video, seems to confirm that certain coaches, left their team and made their respective way to the fence which separates the stands from the field.
Pastor Shane Harris from National Action Network told NBC 7, the main concern isn't that coach Hawkins was or wasn't involved in the fight.
They say he was trying to protect his team because the fight was spilling from the stands onto the field.
Pastor Harris also said it was understood by Coach Hawkins that the league determined his disciplinary action for this matter would be that he would be removed from the Otay Ranch Broncos team and reassigned to a team in Phoenix.
However, the AYF issued a letter recently saying he is suspended completely.
The National Action Network protested the AYF’s decision Wednesday morning outside the league’s local office in Lincoln Park.
NBC 7 reached out to San Diego Youth Football and Cheer’s President Cathy Luna for comment on the situation but have yet to hear back.
