Boy claims football coach assaulted him

LITTLE ROCK, AR - A father wants a football coach charged with assaulting his son after an incident at Cloverdale Middle School. School leaders have placed the coach on paid leave.

This all happened during practice at Cloverdale and the 8th grader's football helmet started the problem.

Eric Terrell says the football coach choked and body slammed his son on Thursday.

"This is my only child,” he said. “I am going to stand up and fight for him."

His son, Keonta, says he needed help fixing his chin strap because it was too tight but the coach got upset.

"He just said boy you just need to shut the h-up and wear the helmet,” Keonta recalls. “You are a little crybaby."

That’s when Keonta says the coach lifted him by his helmet causing the strap to choke him.
Hubert Tate asked, “Your feet were dangling?”

“Yes sir. A little bit in the air," Keonta responded.

The accused coach has not been charged with anything as of right now. He still has a job with the school district. And leaders are working to figure out what happened.

Spokesperson Pam Smith says safety and security is important for all parties involved.