Share this @internewscast.com
(KTLA) – A 50-year-old coach with a youth football league in Riverside County, California, was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly hit a 14-year-old boy who was playing for the opposing team in the face, authorities said Tuesday.
Officers with the Murrieta Police Department responded to Vista Murrieta High School at around 5:40 p.m. on Sept. 23 after receiving calls about the incident at the recreational youth tackle football league game, police said in a news release.
During their investigation, officers determined the coach, identified as Eibylardo Funes, struck the 14-year-old, who was identified in an Instagram post by his mother as Harlem Edwards.
“The victim sustained an injury to his eye and exhibited symptoms of a concussion,” Murrieta police said.
Authorities added that the incident occurred after an altercation between the two teams — the Perris Panthers and the Murrieta Broncos — along with the coaches and parents.
Neenah Kaowili, the teen’s mother, said that Funes, a coach for the Murrieta Broncos, punched her son in the face, knocking him unconscious for two minutes. She said her son suffered a seizure as he regained consciousness.
“Why is this person a Coach, why is he allowed to be in the presence of children if this is what he is capable of!” Kaowili wrote on her Instagram post.
The teen’s mother also said her son was taken to the emergency room and suffered “physical and mental injuries.”
Police arrested the 50-year-old coach on allegations of child abuse with possible great bodily injury and battery. He was released after posting bail of $35,000.
Funes was also suspended from his position as coach, the president of the Murrieta Broncos told the Los Angeles Times.
