Posted by
Team Raj on Tuesday, October 24, 2006 2:52:35 PM
Philadelphia Inquirer chronicles
football fallout
A clear Sunday morning in Burholme Park. Two teams of eager 5- and 6-year-olds gathered around learning to play football.
Instead, they received a lesson in life's ugliness: a coach and father fighting over a child's playing time, an angry loser wielding a .357 Magnum at a pee-wee football game.
The blowup between adults at the children's game occurred around 10:30 a.m. at the park in the 7300 block of Central Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia. Henwood and police gave the following version of events:
Parent Wayne Derkotch, 40, began arguing with the coach of the Northeast Outlaws because he felt his son wasn't getting enough playing time. The argument escalated into a physical fight. Derkotch pulled a .357 Magnum revolver from his waistband, an action witnessed by others at the game.