Scuffle between S.C. youth hoops parents leads to stabbing and arrest

Emotions at a youth basketball game in North Carolina veered dangerous over the edge when two fathers of players in a game engaged in a verbal altercation over their sons, eventually leading to a stabbing and the hospitalization of the victim.

As reported by Eastern Carolina NBC affiliate WITN, 35-year-old Washington (N.C.) resident Kofi Rodgers was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon in relation to a stabbing that took place at the Bobby Andrews Recreation Center in Washington.

The Washington Daily Herald reported that Rodgers and his purported victim are both fathers of players who were competing in the 8-9 year old basketball division that plays its games at Andrews Rec Center.

The man who was stabbed was reportedly struck multiple times in the arm as the two men scuffled just inside the gym entrance, with the victim’s blood pooling on the gym’s floor. Children were quickly herded away from the scene and all further action at the center was immediately cancelled.

While the victim was transported to Vidant-Beaufort Hospital in an apparently stable condition Rodgers was taken into custody after being caught hiding between two cars in the parking lot outside the gym.

While no witnesses have initial statements to the press about the incident, the entire episode highlights just how out of hand youth sports parents can often become. Clearly no argument over a game, or any other aspect of the league that could have inspired the fight, was worth a stabbing. In this case, it may cost Rodgers the chance to see his son play in person again anytime soon as well.

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