HS football player punches coach, is hauled off field in handcuffs

There are bad games for an athlete, and then there are really bad games. How to tell the difference? If it’s five days after the game and you’re still in jail, it may qualify for the latter.

Gary Simpson, 18, is a linebacker for Erie East High School (Pa.). All he did on Friday was punch his coach in the face, which resulted in his arrest. He’s still being held in jail on $25,000 bail for charges of aggravated assault and disorderly conduct.

Police said the assault happened at about 8:18 p.m. on Friday, when officers who were working security at Veterans Stadium said they heard a “loud crack” and suspected that a player got tackled into the bleachers. As the officers moved closer to the field, they saw Simpson walking off the field yelling, screaming and shouting obscenities, Erie police Patrolman Thomas Lenox wrote in the affidavit.

Police were then told by Erie school officials that Simpson had assaulted Cutter, Lenox wrote.

Simpson told Lenox that he punched Cutter because Cutter threatened to “punch me into the dirt,” according to the affidavit.

Cutter told police that he approached Simpson, who appeared upset about the game, as Simpson walked off the field. As Simpson walked away from Cutter as Cutter tried to coach him, Cutter said he put his hand on Simpson’s shoulder pads to calm him down and talk to him. Simpson then turned around to Cutter and swung at him, but missed, Lenox wrote in the affidavit.

Cutter told police that he told Simpson that he would “put you in the dirt if you ever swing at me.” Simpson then turned around and punched Cutter in the face, according to the affidavit.

Even LaGarrete Blount is saying: “Dammmmn, that’s unwise.”

By the way, here’s the previous most noteworthy thing to happen at Erie High:

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High school star assaults coach, is taken away in handcuffs [Prep Rally]