Youth Basketball Coach Allegedly Bites Off Opponent’s Ear
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Thomas Northcut/Digital Vision(SPRINGFIELD, Mass.) — Move over, Mike Tyson. A youth basketball coach in Springfield, Mass., has been arraigned after allegedly biting off part of the ear of an opposing team’s coach at a game last Friday night, reported ABC affiliate WGGB-TV.
Timothy Forbes, 34, an assistant coach of fifth- and sixth-grade teams at Springfield’s Catholic Youth Organization, is accused of attacking the coach of the winning team after a game at Holy Name School in Springfield, police told WGGB. As the players were shaking hands following the game, Forbes allegedly attempted to kick the other team’s coach, and tried to punch the man in the face, Hampden County Assistant District Attorney Marie Angers told WGGB.
The other coach has only been identified as a 34-year-old man.
“While they were wrestling, [Forbes] then bit his left ear and chunk of it came off, [and] the defendant then fled,” said Angers.
The injured man was taken to Baystate Medical Center, and the portion of his ear that was bitten off was later reattached, reported WGGB.
Forbes eventually turned himself in at court in Hampden County, where he was arrested and charged with assault and battery, mayhem, disorderly conduct, and assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, police told WGGB. He is being held without bail until another hearing, scheduled for next Friday.
Forbes’ attorney, Philip Lauro, told WGGB that his client had a clean record and “has dedicated his life to coaching his boys.”
But Springfield police told a different story. They said Forbes was previously arrested in the Springfield area for several crimes, including kidnapping, assault and battery and destruction of property, according to WGGB.
Attempts to reach family members at Forbes’ residence were unsuccessful. Forbes’ attorney, Philip Lauro, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Anthony Cignoli, spokesman for the CYO Basketball League of Western Massachusetts, told WGGB that all referees and coaches for the league — including assistant coaches like Forbes — go through rigorous background checks.
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