A Georgia youth football coach who went viral after repeatedly assaulting a small child at a game is now paying the ultimate price.
Gerrel Williams, the coach in question, was reportedly fired from all his jobs and is now facing criminal charges as a result of his transgressions.
“The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office along with our local state attorney’s office have reviewed this case and the decision has been made that charges for child abuse will be filed, regardless of parent’s decision not to press charges,” Maj. Jacob Ruiz said in a statement Friday.
“The actions of this person are despicable and there is zero tolerance when it comes to the abuse of a child.”
Williams served as a coach of a 9-and-under team from Savannah, Georgia. During a recent outing, he was seen striking a player in the helmet at the American Youth Football (AYF) national championships in Kissimmee, Florida.
No room in the game for coaches like this. I hope he is arrested and banned for life. pic.twitter.com/1B0F2cLiqH
— Coach Reed (@CoachReed314) December 9, 2020
The AYF immediately expelled Williams, and he subsequently lost his job at the Chatham County (Ga.) Sheriff’s Office.
After the backlash, he came out and offered an apology on social media.
“At the end of the day, I am a man, and I’m not gon’ make no excuses for what I did,” he said in the video. “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have disciplined him in public — I shoulda waited ‘til he got back — for doing what he did.
“At the end of the day, I apologize to him, the kids, the city … and my family back at home. I do apologize. There’s no excuse for my actions. I hope he forgive me, and his parents have forgiven me.”
The 9-year-old’s mother later came out and said “that none of these coaches would harm (the) kids.” As a result, she personally declined to press charges.
Multiple big names came out to condemn Williams’ actions this past week, including Fox Sports broadcaster Shannon Sharpe and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
Based on how rapidly things have progressed in this story over the past week, it’s probably safe to assume that this isn’t the last update we’ll get regarding the whole situation.
Yikes. https://t.co/FPN0pOZYH6
— Game 7 (@game7__) December 8, 2020
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
