Lorain/Elyria, OH
Ridgeville man faces charge of hitting ref at pee wee game
Print this story
Read comments and discuss this story
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — A pee wee football coach wanted a penalty. He got a mug shot and a court date instead after getting into an on-field fight with a referee, police said.
Mark Klanac, 26, of North Ridgeville, was coaching his team about 9:30 a.m. Sept. 8 in Frontier Park when he became outraged that a referee didn’t call a penalty, so he struck the referee in the back of the head, police said.
The referee, Randall Grass, 40, of Avon Lake, responded by turning and punching Klanac in the head, North Ridgeville police Sgt. Vince Abt said.
 |
| Klanac |
The game was stopped, and parents and coaches had to separate the two men.
“Both (Klanac) and (Grass) were very cooperative,” Abt said. “They appeared very remorseful for what had occurred.”The referee was not injured and declined to press assault charges, according to police.
Klanac was charged with disorderly conduct and was to appear today in North Ridgeville Mayor’s Court. He suffered a slight contusion to the side of his head from the referee’s punch, Abt said.
The North Ridgeville Football League’s pee wee division has players between the ages of 6 to 8. The city has no involvement with the league other than to allow the league to use Frontier Park for its games.
Mayor David Gillock said that the league had expelled the coach and suspended the referee for the rest of the year.
Neither Klanac nor Grass could be reached for comment.
Contact Stephen Szucs at 336-4016 or sszucs@chroniclet.com.
Print this story
Report an innappropriate comment
In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement
and discussion guidelines.
You must be registered and logged in to post a comment. If you aren't already registered,
click here.
If you are registered, click here to log in.
Need help? Email Us.
Just what we like to instill in our kids, `winning is everything!” From T-ball through high school athletics, that concept resonates throughout society and ALL of us are to blame. We teach, or allow that mentality to be taught to our children, everyday by people we really don’t know at all. I’ve coached baseball to children for 12 years and finally got out when I realized the game had taken a turn from teaching and having fun, whether you win or lose, to winning at all cost, even assaulting a fellow human being if they disagree. Get back to the basics, and while you’re at it, do a little background checking on some of these people that are allowed to coach our young impressionable children! You may not solve all the problems but you might catch some of the idiots like the one in this story.
(Report comment)
At least the league did something. Lorain County Hot Stove has ignored these same things over several years.. That’s a BIG part of the whole problem!!
(Report comment)
The league only suspended the REF ,who also happens to be a board member and a coach. I find it hard to comprehend how you can punch someone after they just walked up behind you and knocked off your hat and not be arrested and suspended from the league. Just another example of “it is not what you do but who you know”, did i forget to mention that he is friends with the league president and other board members.
(Report comment)
I agree with John Doe’s assertion that politics was at play — the REF knew the right people in the right places, and Mr. Klanac, regretably, did not. I was at that game, and this just goes to show how the news media twists stories around for nothing but sensational and cheap entertainment. This isn’t news - it’s just an average, ordinary dad protecting fair sports play for his kids. Also, Mr. Klanac was only charged with disorderly conduct - the same as if he was playing music too loud. However, the REF assaulted Mr Klanac. Why wasn’t the REF charged with assault & battery? Again, it’s all politics and knowing the right group of folks.
(Report comment)
Wow, is unbelievable. Let me also mention that is being ignore that some of these teams are trainned to kill. This is just one of the bad coaches. If you come at a game with the bigger kids you will see the other ones, Browns team for example. Those kids mouth should be wash and their coaches and parents mouth too, but I guess that is ok to do. Northridgeville is not a fair city. If you don’t have the right skin color or the right ethnicy, forget it, you are flushed down the toilet.
(Report comment)
I was one of the parents at this game and am outraged at what the liberal news media has made of this story. The facts are not correct. The coach argued the call (which as a mother who doesn’t know all the rules, was a blatant penalty and the child was injured) and as he turned and walked away, the ref punched the coach in the back of his head and went to tackle him. And not to mention, the ref has been in altercations before, the coach has not. And the ref is a family member of the league president. All blown way out of proportion. The kids continued on the game within a couple of minutes and the responsible adults/parents explained to their children that people make mistakes.
Thank you.
(Report comment)
My side of the story:
1. I never slapped the ref.
2. I never punched the ref.
No one from the media ever tried to contact me for a statement on what happened. This whole thing has been blown way out of proportion by the media. If I would have started the fight I would have been charged with assault, I wasn’t. My son was injured on an illegal play and the ref neglected his primary duty, to protect the kids. It’s amazing to me that someone can attack another person, like the ref did, and suffer no consequences.
I feel sorry for those people that just read the paper or watch the news blindly without looking for some facts.
(Report comment)
I just would like to say that I have known Mark Klanac for a short amount of time and he is the most easy going person that I have ever met. Flicking the ref’s hat because he didn’t protect the children which is his responsibility does not constitute being punched in the face. The media portrays Mark as a poor sportsman and above all else a monster, however he is nothing of the sort. What people don’t understand is politics play too much of a role in our society. The ref happens to be on the board of the league along with the rest of his family members. Why isn’t Glass’s picture all over the news and papers for assaulting another person, because he has the right connections in the right places. For everyone who is unaware of the facts involving this situation be aware before you make a comment. YOU SOUND LIKE AN IDIOT!
(Report comment)
Editor’s note:
Our reporter Stephen Szucs was in North Ridgeville Mayor’s Court Thursday to watch Mark Klanac plead no contest to his charge of disorderly conduct, and was among three other media outlets who requested a statement from Klanac.
Klanac declined and walked away.
(Report comment)
I dont claim to know all the facts,but as a sports official if a coach or fan would hit me in the back of the head they would get a nice solid punch in the face. To me its a natural reaction. I can show you dozens of articles on the internet that show parents and fans fighting or even killings sports officials. We have to stick up for ourselves. Parents,fans and coaches should not attack sports officials.
(Report comment)
How can any intelligent person justify behavior that is so damaging to young people. Regardless of the events that led up to the physcial confrontation, the inappropriate interaction between these two individuals, is what young, impressionable athletes see and what they deem acceptable. Any parent that finds this event to be rational, is also setting a terrible example in the home. I, too, was in attendance,…and though I have coached football on the collegiate and high school level for 18 years, I found this atrosity to have such a negative impact that I removed my son from the the North Ridgeville Youth Football League, and will not speak in support of it to any who inquire.
(Report comment)
I know someone that hit someone in the face and they were charged with a F2. Received jail time and probation. Was a first time offense. Why is this different? Especially in front of children! What are they learning from this?
(Report comment)