Lawrence youth football coach charged with body-slamming parent
LAWRENCE >> Talk about unsportsmanlike conduct.
Lawrence Junior Cardinals bigwig Bryan M. Carter is accused of unnecessary roughness on allegations he body-slammed a parent while performing the duties of a football coach in the presence of numerous children under 16.
Carter, 38, of Pennroad Avenue in Ewing, has been charged with fourth-degree simple assault in connection with an incident that occurred last Saturday.
During a youth football game at Central Park, Carter grabbed a 53-yearold Florence man by the chest and threw him to the ground after a sideline tackle had caused a disturbance amongst players, coaches and parents, Lawrence Township Police said Friday in a news release.
Two days after the incident, Lawrence Police Detective David Burns signed a complaint summons charging Carter with the assault. The coach ultimately turned himself in on Wednesday — four days after the alleged personal foul — and was processed and released on a summons pending court, police said.
The Trentonian has reached out to Carter and Lawrence Junior Cardinals President Tom DeMarco via email and telephone seeking comment for this story. The newspaper did not receive a response from either man as of Friday night.
Lawrence Mayor Christopher Bobbitt also did not immediately have any comments Friday.
Carter committed his alleged act of unnecessary roughness last Saturday on Elvin Bethea Field in Lawrence Township’s 107acre Central Park off Eggert Crossing Road. The field is named after NFL Hall of Fame defensive end Elvin Bethea, a Trenton Central High School graduate and Lawrence Township native who played with the Houston Oilers from 1968 to 1983.
The complaint summons says Carter purposely and knowingly caused bodily injury to the victim at a school or community-sponsored youth sports event. He lifted the victim up and threw him to the ground, according to the allegations. Body-slamming an opponent is appropriate
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