Coach suspended, four cited after brawl at youth football game

October 18, 2008 - 7:15PM

By Abby Sewell, staff writer

BARSTOW • Four people, including a Barstow Youth Football coach, were cited after a brawl broke out among spectators at a football game Saturday afternoon.

Barstow coach Jerry Pinkney, 29, was suspended from his coaching duties after the incident, in which he was cited on a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace.

Three parents were also cited, Barstow Police Department Sgt. Mark Franey said. Jorge Ceniceros, 37, of Barstow, and Kathy Moore, 49, of San Bernardino, were cited on suspicion of disturbing the peace. Tenika Gosey, 29, of San Bernardino, was cited on suspicion of misdemeanor battery.

The fight broke out during the fourth quarter of a game between 8-, 9-, and 10-year-olds from the Barstow Aztecs and the San Bernardino Hawks, in which the San Bernardino team had just taken the lead, Barstow Youth Football President Ray Silva said.

Silva said that Pinkney was attempting to break up a fight between his son, who was a player on the Barstow team, and a San Bernardino player, when the coach’s momentum knocked the San Bernardino player down. He was unsure what sparked the scuffle between the players.
“I’m sure (Pinkney) thought he was doing the right thing by breaking them up,” Silva said. “... But a key rule is, you don’t touch the other player. You grab your own kid.”

Richard Villegas, a City Council candidate who was watching the game, said he saw San Bernardino parents and coaches rush across the field and begin throwing punches.

“Within a matter of seconds, there were 30 or 40 people fighting,” he said.

Bystanders were able to intervene and separate the participants after a few minutes, Villegas said, but a second fight broke out shortly thereafter.

One Barstow parent was knocked unconscious during the melee, Silva said. Villegas described seeing a San Bernardino man kick the injured man repeatedly in the head while he was on the ground.

By the time police arrived, the man had regained consciousness. He refused medical treatment, Franey said.

The remainder of the game was called off, Silva said. The rest of the games scheduled for the day went forward, but officials kept fans on both sides separated from each other and removed from the field, Silva said.

Pinkney will remain on suspension until Barstow Youth Football officials can fully investigate the incident, he said.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or asewell@desertdispatch.com