Massachusetts HS football coach quits midseason over 'nonstop,' 'vulgar' abuse from parents on the sidelines

Kahn Chace has been coaching high school football for 19 years, but after the abuse he says he and his staff suffered from parents on the sidelines, he finally decided mid-season that he was done being heckled and quit mid-season.

According to WBZ-TV, Chace coaches for Cardinal Spellman High School in Brockton, Massachusetts. The team is 2-3 this year, but Chace says the abuse started during last season, when the team went 3-8. Chace described the abuse as "nonstop" and "vulgar," and said that after one game last year, an angry parent actually followed one of his assistant coaches to his car after he left the coaching booth.

The abuse got so bad, according to Chace, that he had to resort to having people escort him to his car after the games or sneak out a back exit due to concerns about his own safety. Chace decided to call it quits after he had to tell his wife and young kids not to come to his games. "Now I can't have, I don't want my daughter to hear stuff like that said about her dad," Chace told WBZ.

According to the Boston Herald, Chace had served as head coach at Tri-County prior to last year but left for Cardinal Spellman because he hoped to secure a head coaching job closer to home. A former assistant at Cardinal Spellman confirmed to the Herald that the parents were very abusive at games, saying, "“I can confirm what (Chace) said because it happened to me. The parents need to receive some sort of discipline and punishment from the school."

According to WBZ, the Massachusetts state athletic association has been forced to urge Massachusetts parents to calm down at high school football games, saying that abuse directed at officials in particular has led to a serious shortage of referees that threatens the cancellation of games. An MIAA spokesman told WBZ, "We can never forget that when our coaches are coaching, they are doing this for the love of the sport and for what they are trying to do for young athletes."

Another area coach told the Herald via text, "I coached with Kahn in the Shriners Game. He is a top notch guy and coach. No one wants to coach or officiate any more.”