Jenni Carlson NewsOK.com Blogging Community

Think parents behaving badly is someone else’s problem?

Think those sorts of things only happen in other places?

Think again.

Watch my latest video commentary or read below:

Sometimes we have to look beyond our state’s borders for cautionary tales in sports.

And then sometimes, they come and smack us upside the head.

In the past month or so, Oklahoma has had its share of “Little League parents” behaving badly. First came the stun-gun attack on the cheerleading coach at Putnam North. Now this week comes the news of the choking of the baseball coach at Enid High.

What in the name of Latrell Sprewell is going on here?

You’ve no doubt heard the latest. Enid High baseball coach Scott Baugh told police that an off-duty Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper argued with him earlier this week because his son had been left off a summer league team. The trooper then grabbed the coach around the neck with both hands.

This comes only a month after Putnam North cheerleading sponsor Bethany Lorenz was approached by a woman in the school’s parking lot. At the direction of one of the cheerleader’s mothers, the woman zapped Lorenz on the neck with a stun gun.

Listen, I understand the importance of youth sports. Families invest a lot of time and energy and money into their children’s athletics. Having one kid on one team can cost hundreds of dollars, maybe more. Team fundraisers help defer some of the costs, but at the end of the day, parents are shelling out their hard-earned cash for their kids.

I get that.

But the adults can’t go around acting like children. They can’t choke and grab and taser and harm other adults. No amount of money invested, no amount of time given justifies that.

Whenever I hear stories like this, I’m reminded of the story of Andrew Thompson. He was a soccer standout at Northwest Classen High School a few years ago. I even covered one of his playoff games and interviewed him.

I also interviewed his father, Emmanuel Thompson.

Less than a year and a half later, Emmanuel was dead and Andrew was charged with his murder.

Earlier this month, Andrew Thompson’s first-degree murder trial was delayed because his attorney withdrew from the case. Before he did, though, he said that the younger Thompson had suffered years of abuse from his father. Others have said that much of the abuse stemmed from Emmanuel’s demands on Andrew as an athlete. He pushed too hard. He wanted too much. And ultimately, it caused his son to snap.

Parents must find a balance when it comes to their children in sports. Is it important? Sure. Is it worth choking someone or stun-gunning someone or pushing someone so hard that they commit the most horrible of crimes?

We all know the answer, but sometimes, it just hits a little closer to home.