A Columbus man is facing a felony charge after court documents say he threatened to kill the coach of a local elementary school sports team, sending texts and social media posts berating the coaches and the team after a family member did not play in a Johnson County game.
Kalei Akana was charged in Bartholomew County with one count of intimidation, a Level 6 felony, according to court documents cited by Fox 59. The documents say the threats followed a September 5 game at Indian Creek High School in Johnson County, where a coach of the elementary school team was reportedly threatened after a family member of Akana’s sat out of the contest.
What the Coach Told Akana
According to the same court documents, the coach told Akana that the child had said he did not want to play. That explanation apparently did little to defuse the situation. Court records say Akana went on to make several social media posts and send multiple texts berating the coaches and the team.
One of those texts, cited in the documents, read in part: “Don’t make me come to you. I have to find you. I am going to f****** kill you.” Coaches told officials they feared for their own safety and for the safety of the team’s players and their family members at future games.
Akana’s Account and the Charges
Akana told law enforcement he was upset with the way the coaches had treated his family member and became emotional, per the court documents. He also acknowledged that he would not contact the team or the coaches again, the filing states.
Akana was taken into custody on Monday and was later released on a $750 cash bond, the documents show. His initial hearing in the case is scheduled for October 9 in Bartholomew County.
A Wider Pattern in Youth Sports
The incident lands amid broader concern about hostility aimed at coaches and officials in youth sports. A survey of nearly 36,000 sports officials cited by USA Today found that 69% of respondents said sportsmanship at games was getting worse, while half said they had felt unsafe while doing their jobs.
That same survey found nearly half of officials polled said sportsmanship was worst at the youth competitive travel level, and USA Today reported a nationwide shortage of sports officials from youth through high school levels. The outlet also detailed a case in which a youth football coach in St. Louis was shot four times by a parent upset with his son’s playing time; the coach, Shaquille Latimore, survived. In response to similar tensions, New York’s high-school athletic association adopted a policy requiring anyone ejected from a game to sit out the next one or complete a parent credential course before returning.
