Wrestling League Bars Father Who Bites

ByABC News
March 7, 2001, 8:29 AM

B E N S A L E M, Pa., March 7 -- A father allegedly bit a coach during a fracas that broke out after his 7-year-old son lost a wrestling match.

The bite caused an injury that required a tetanus shot and antibiotics, said Paul McGarrigle Jr., the coach who was bitten. The father has been barred from attending matches held by a youth wrestling club in this Philadelphia suburb.

The altercation happened during a recent contest between the Bensalem Youth Wrestling Club and the Neshaminy Wrestling League. When a Bensalem wrestler won the match, the father confronted a referee and said the winning move was against the rules.

The man started shouting and left the gym after coaches said the pin was allowed, but he returned a short time later and a shoving match ensued, McGarrigle said. During the struggle, the father bit him, he said.

"He just put his head down and bit me and broke the skin," McGarrigle said. "I was hurt, and I could not go back to work that day."

The father then made an obscene gesture in front of the coaches and the other children, Bensalem police said.

Police would not release the father's name because no charges have been filed, though they could be brought later.

McGarrigle said the children were traumatized by the fight, especially his own son.

"He was crying, and I had to go back to the gym to let him know that I was OK," McGarrigle said. "I think that bothered me more than anything."