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Utah Coach Arrested After Seemingly Tackling (and Knocking Out) Opposing Player From the Sidelines During Game (With Stunning Video)

Oct. 10, 2012 11:58am Erica Ritz

Utah Coach Nathan Harris Appears to Tackle 13 Year Old Player in the Middle of a Game

(Photo: Utah County Jail)

A little league coach in Utah was booked on second-degree child abuse charges Saturday after seemingly tackling a 13-year-old running back in the middle of a tied game.

“My son was running the ball when, out of nowhere, the other team’s coach blindsided him and knocked him to the ground!” the victim’s mother explained for KSL-TV.

She added for KENS5: “He actually stepped in, folded his arms and went up under his chin and flattened him.”

According to reports, the young boy was knocked out cold by the hit, and suffered a concussion. He was reportedly one of the stars of the league before the accident, with 18 touchdowns year.

Now, he’s out for the rest of the season.

The coach has been identified as 38-year-old Nathan Harris, and has been released from jail on bond.

Significantly, Harris’ lawyer Dean Zabriskie claims all the evidence– including the recording– is inconclusive.

“I cannot see in any way how this video shows how there was time to even make a decision,” he stated. “Boy runs towards him. He’s being pursued by the other team. In that instance, the boy crosses the line and my client puts his arms up. And, that’s all you can see on the tape.”

Regarding the witnesses who recorded the video, the Zabriskie added: “It looks to us that they are at least 100 feet away and on the other side of the field, and of course representing the opposite team.”

Though the lawyer regrets the “accident,” the injured player’s mother is still at a loss.

She stated: “Nobody expected a coach to be the one to do something like this.”

A spectator in the audience recorded video of the unusual incident:

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Comments (66)

Standman1
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 5:15pm
Get that coach a spot on the Saints coaching staff now!

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- bigdog71360
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 5:35pm
  They need someone who can tackle!!
  
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- Kaoscontrol
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 7:07pm
  from the photo…he looks like such a nice, decent, intelligent fellow.
  
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- maynardb61
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 7:29pm
  If that was my kid, I would go get a baseball bat and go play baseball with that coach.
  
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- sillyfreshness
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 9:29pm
  I’m just glad the victim wasn’t black or we’d never stop hearing about it in the “chosen people” controlled Marxist Media plus “hate crime” charges would follow.
  
  Report this comment
conservativeone
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 4:32pm
Am I missing something ??? The video isn’t all that clear to me, but it appeared that the player was running out of bounds and into the coach. I didn’t see where the coach stepped onto the playing field.
Correct me if I’m wrong … (Honestly I may have missed it)

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- SLAPTHELEFT
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 4:39pm
  Yeah wango
  
  You’re right that Mormon d BagHarry Reid’s has gotta go.
  
  Report this comment
- symphonic
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 6:18pm
  video was NOT clear. There is no way to tell. Why are police convicting the man in the news? WRONG
  
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- Libermerican
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 9:20pm
  Agreed, the boy ran out of bounds, and into the coach. Anyone would have braced for impact. The coach’s instincts were a little too good, and the boy got knocked down instead of the coach. Regrettable the boy got hurt, but that is the boy’s fault. If the boy ran into the tree, would they arrest the tree?
  
  I see no wrong doing. The charges are inappropriate, and should be dropped. There are MANY witnesses standing on the sideline next to the coach. It shouldn’t be hard to figure out who was where.
  
  Report this comment
- mickey16
  Posted on October 11, 2012 at 10:40am
  If you stop the video at the time of the hit, you can see by the positioning of the coach’s feet that he is on the field and not on the side line. With the poor quality of the video, it’s hard to tell if the coach hit the kid, as it was described by the boy’s mother, or if he just stood there and was run into. When it goes to court – and it will – it will be blown up, slo-moed, etc. and all the little details will come out. What I doubt they will be able to prove is whether or not it was deliberate. For those who have never played football, and been on the sidelines during a big play, it’s easy to lose track of the sideline bounderies and not uncommon for players and coaches to accidentally step on the field.
  
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Eastinfection
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 4:11pm
I’m kinda disappointed….

Was really hoping it would be more like the one in the 1954 Cotton Bowl:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSteCSinjTs

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denkat56
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 4:08pm
You think this rough you ought to see the adults play church basketball.

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OldGuy66
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 3:48pm
This guy is a total azz. Step thru that video 1 frame at a time and you see him level that kid. Give the boys dad an aluminum bat and three free swings. I think that would even things up, roughly….

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Chris.underhill
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 3:18pm
Apparently you don’t have kids that play football surely not 7th grade foot ball. My son plays foot ball and is also 13 years old. When they come running towards the side lines guess what 100% of the people in the sidelines do?
THE MOVE OUT OF THE WAY NOT TACKLE A KID TO STOP THEM.. WTF is wrong you all? a 250 pound brick wall and a 80 pound kid at full force gets bricked and you think its going to be the kids fault for playing the game as intended? This is a clear cut and dry motive of the coach who didn’t even offer to get out of the way or at least put his arms out to hug the kid to stop him form falling??

What kind of coach to kids could be one that does not offer support but instead tackles the kid to the ground?

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Ruprecht
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 2:56pm
Hard to tell for sure. He may have done it on purpose. Possibly not. It does look like he’s either on the field or really close. Based on the flow of the play and the fact that he should have been clearly off of the field while the play was live, he either purposely stepped forward to get in the way or is a typically meat-headed coach on the sideline who ignores the NFHSAA rulebook.

Most youth football follows high school rules with few exceptions. For at least a half decade, it has been the rule that during the play all players and coaches are to be two yards back from the field of play in the player’s box. In my experience as a sideline official, it is almost completely ignored by at least 75% of the coaches.

It’s a difficult one to flag both because I’m usually watching the field and not the coaches, but also because our crew seems to be the only one in the area that enforces it. So, when we do flag it, we take a lot of slings and arrows from coaches who wonder why they weren’t flagged for it last week.

It really sort of ticks me off. Next to wearing a helmet, it’s about the easiest rule in the book. And as we see here, had it been observed and enforced, this coach probably would have been much less inclined to either sloppily or brazenly been in the way.

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flyaa
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 2:43pm
It was Bush’s fault

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- riseandshine
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 4:07pm
  Naa…nothing is Bush’s fault.
  
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Wango
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 2:33pm
Actions of a typical repressed Mormon tea buggerer. He probably thought the kid was a woman and, well, got what she deserved. Reminds me of Alan West. If I was that kid’s parent, old Coach Baldy McRaisenuts would have a lot more to worry about than the law.
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- Mike777
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 2:59pm
  ALERT Wacko liberal ALERT
  
  @Wango you are a JERK
  
  Report this comment
- self-reliant man
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 3:00pm
  Wow what a response. Truly educated and well-thought out. No generalizations or stereotypes present here. Intellect at its finest.
  
  Report this comment
- Fubared
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 3:01pm
  Odd, I was going to comment: if WangDang had a father, this is what he would look and act like.
  
  Report this comment
- Ty Coon
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 3:02pm
  You are a psychopath who should not be let out at night nor hold sharp objects. Morons like you are a penny a billion. Public education has let you down BIG TIME !
  
  Report this comment
- Zipit
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 3:07pm
  Somehow WANG, I doubt you would have the cahone’s to even take on this loser’s wife! Or wives if that’s what you would like to believe. The tea buggering sounds like it’s much closer to, “up your alley”! Isn’t there cream puff!!!!!
  
  Report this comment
- endthemindlessspending
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 3:12pm
  Are you kidding me? How do you know he is a Mormon? Oh thats right everyone from Utah is a Mormon. You know nothing about the Mormon faith other than what you Googled to support your side. The Mormon church doesn’t support polygamy. It was used for a small period of time because so many men were killed because of their faith leaving families fatherless. The men didn’t get to pick who they supported, they were assigned them. They did say man I want a couple more wives, it was only so families had fathers.
  
  Report this comment
- Qtaug
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 3:45pm
  Redefining yourself as a sphincter is rather novel. However, I am old school, you are an as.hole!
  
  Report this comment
- SLAPTHELEFT
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 4:13pm
  This moron wango seems to be o sensed with wife beating. I can understand, lefties treat their women like trash. It’s not surprising. The idiot is irrelevant and uninteresting.
  
  Report this comment
- bannedfromCNN
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 4:19pm
  Wango ze tango – swallow much?
  
  Report this comment
- wcnky1954
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 4:45pm
  The Woody Hayes Jr. story will sort itself out.
  Lets all jump on WANGO, and have some fun?
  WANGO, at some point in life, someone has to have told you what WANG is slang for, right?
  I mean other than referring to the defunct computer company, founded by Dr. An Wang.
  I could make a hobby out of you, you silly person, ’cause these “tea buggerers?” along with myself. are going to rock your reality in around 27 days!
  Go put you Che’ hoodie on, flash a peace sign, and crawl back into your hole.
  You occupying poser!
  
  Report this comment
- Anonymous T. Irrelevant
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 5:37pm
  @WCNKY1954
  Actually, he fits the urban slang a lot better:
  http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=wango
  
  Report this comment
- braineater000
  Posted on October 11, 2012 at 12:51am
  Classic Wango. Always embarrassing himself with his bigotry.
  
  Report this comment
1HonestInjun
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 2:18pm
I wish they would have shown more of the video after the boy was on the ground. The coach just
stood back and did nothing. He didn’t bend over and try to help the boy up. The normal reaction especially with a young boy running into a grown man would be to hold out his arms and catch the boy. Instead the coach put a football move on the boy. It’s called a “shiver”. And anyone who played football would recognize it. The coach’s action is outrageous.

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- Exrepublisheep
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 3:12pm
  Outrageous and criminal.
  
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- symphonic
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 6:22pm
  If that’s what he did, I agree with you. But I could not make heads or tails of that crappy video, and I have an HD monitor.
  
  Report this comment
statutoryape
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 2:13pm
The video definitely does not match up with the allegations against him. This is the kid’s fault and this guy didn’t do anything wrong. This kid wasn’t hit or “tackled” – he did this accidentally to himself. I’m surprised that some people are taking the kid’s side.

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- kenboo1
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 2:28pm
  The film is good enough to see that the coach stepped back after hitting him… This is a Woody Hays (Ohio state) moment… Except this was a child. The tape will only support what the other witnesses will testify to… What a man!!!
  
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- HI_Don
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 3:57pm
  I’m not going to arm chair quarterback this. The plain fact is that the video is crappy quality and you can’t see for sure what happened. It is POSSIBLE that the coach was off the field and in that case it would appear the runner ran straight at the coach, and perhaps the coach was caught off guard that the play pushed out of bounds and he simply protected himself during the impact. He didn’t just step back after the hit, he is stepping back during the hit, there is no motion of the coach leaning into the hit to impact the player. Again, the video is weak in defining if the coach is on or off the field, the play has the look that the player is off the field because of the reaction of the other players pursuit. In the law of tonnage, player looses to bigger coach in impact, lands on his back and hits his head causing the injury. The coach clearly did not “stop the touchdown run by tackling the player” The player ran directly at the coach, the coach did not move to cut off the player. That said, if the coach was on the field not the sidelines I would agree there is some real issue with that conduct. Otherwise this looks very unintentional. Considering the coach was sent to jail, one might believe the referee called a foul for the coach being on the field. If there was no flag for interference and the arrest was purely because of the accusation of the parent, I think this is one of those allegations based solely from he’s an adult and a kid got hurt.
  
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- MeCpl13
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 6:19pm
  It’s pretty obvious the coach took the kid out. After the kid is hit you can see the coach step back off the field quick trying to look innocent. If it had been innocent don’t you think the coach would have looked like he cared about a kid who had “run into him”? But honestly if it had been innocent there wouldn’t have been any head-on “collision” because the coach would have been trying to get the heck out of the kid’s way!
  
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darkhelmet
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 1:58pm
“Absolutely shocking”

Notice how the media already has convicted this guy.

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- shakedowncrews
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 2:23pm
  the video speaks for itself. the coach was on the field, not on the sideline. he stepped onto the field, takled the kid, then backed off the field.
  
  you are a good person for wanting to allow the jury to decide, but when there is video evidence, it’s pretty clear what happened. This crap happens a lot, actually. My brother was a soccer coach when the other coach got upset that one of his players had been injured. My brother, who had just had surgery on his achiles tendon and was on crutches, hobbled out onto the field to to check and make sure the opposing team’s player was OK and the coach suddenly punched him in the face. He was arrested, but the “good old boy network” in that Mississippi town made sure to threaten my brother that if he didn’t drop charges he would never coach again in the district.
  
  So imagine that: a guy on crutches is sucker punched on the field when checking the health and wellbeing of a player, the offender gets arrested, and the guy who gets threatened is the victim of the assault.
  
  So NO, I’m not surprised by this, nor do I have any patience with the azz wipe. He should spend time in jail and never be allowed anywhere near a coaching position again.
  
  Report this comment
Ridd1ck
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 1:55pm
The video is way too obscure and grainy to be able to tell what happened at all. Let the police determine what happened.

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Eastinfection
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 1:40pm
Um, Erica…. “little league” is a trademarked youth baseball organization….

This is the Southern Utah Youth Football Association (SUYFA)

Next time you’re unsure ask Pat or Stu- not Glenn.

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myptofvu
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 1:36pm
I call BS on this..you can see the coach backup after it happened. If he was throwing a block on the kid his momentum would have moved him forward not backward.

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woodyee
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 1:27pm
I watched this video on full screen and start/stop. I don’t see the coach moving IN. What I see is the coach moving back after contact is made by the player. I hope there is other video out there that can be seen a little more clearly, and hopefully from the coach’s side of the field.

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 1:46pm
  Who knew Abraham Zapruder was hiding out in Utah filming youth football games?
  
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Chuck Stein
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:54pm
So it happened Utah, and it is being reported by a San Antonio, Texas TV Channel? Mmmm . . . K.

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- rangerskippy
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:59pm
  that was lame, the kid ran into him, while his arms were folded.
  
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rpp
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:49pm
Where are those NFL replacement refs when you need them?

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sizzler2220
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:44pm
Ban all sports at public schools! It is a waste of money and opens the taxpayers to multiple law suits.

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COFemale
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:25pm
I am sorry whether the coach is in bounds or out of bounds he purposely took his arms and went up under the chin of the player. If he is protecting himself from a collision, his natural reaction would to put his arms out in front of him, not cross his arms and push them up under the players chin. His natural reaction would try to get out of the way. Also he would not knock out the player. For heavens sakes the player received a concussion, that meant a forceful connection. Also why did the coach not go to the ground also if it was just a unintended collision?

All you who are defending this coach shame on you, shame on you. You are the type of people who would defend a rapist saying the girl asked for it. Disgusting.

I hope the coach’s team forfeited the game. They should. Teach the players a lesson, that cheating makes you losers.

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smokeysmoke
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:14pm
it looked like the coach stepped right in front of the kid onto the field… that is definitaly assult…

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- ammboy
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 1:00pm
  I agree, I hope this coach gets thrown in prison for a while. Little ***** needs to act like an adult. What a great example that coach is setting to his players.
  
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- ammboy
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 1:03pm
  I agree.What a little *****, he needs to act like an adult. Let me tell ya, he is setting a great example as a coach to his players! I hope to see this coach in jail.
  
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brezzeone
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:13pm
The should go to jail and never beable to work as a couch in any sport again. If he would do that to someone’s elses kid, what is he doing to his own.

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Thevoice
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:09pm
We all know where this is going. Into some court where we will hear the jury ….After further review …

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Tirabi
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:08pm
I can’t tell if the coach is on the field or out of bounds. If out of bounds I can definitely see this as an automatic reflex to protect himself. If he’s on the field of play, then it was purposeful. The video is inconclusive as the defense lawyer claims.

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- bgotts27
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 1:04pm
  I have been to many, many football games as a statistician, standing on the sidelines during the game with players, coaches, etc. I’ve watched many more games of football on TV – both college and professional.
  
  I’ve seen many plays down the sidelines like this one was, and even out of bounds – including the play when former Green Bay Packers Coach Dan Devine suffered a broken leg out of bounds.
  
  NEVER ONCE have I ever seen anyone react automatically in the way this coach did with his arm or with his stepping back after hitting the kid.
  
  I believe that this hit was absolutely intentional. That coach should be banned for life – AFTER his other civic penalties and fines are paid.
  
  Report this comment
teebubba
Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:03pm
He ain’t got nuthin’ on old Woody Hayes who popped a Clemson player in the head on a nationally televised bowl game.

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- face.chewer
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 12:33pm
  Ha! Woody Hayes, what toilet did that lump crawl out of. The guy was a disgrace to America.
  
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- Spankster
  Posted on October 10, 2012 at 1:20pm
  TEEBUBBA,I see you’re thinking along the same lines as I was,and Face.Chewer you are an idiot.You or your team must have been one of the hundreds that had they’re Ass handed to them by the Buckeyes.Grow up and get over it.
  
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