A youth flag football coach in Wellington is facing a felony charge after deputies say he put a teenage player in a chokehold following a postgame confrontation, while his own 16-year-old daughter now faces a battery charge stemming from the same brawl. Brandon Mayer, 37, was arrested Wednesday and booked on a charge of felony battery by strangulation, with his bond set at $7,500.
The altercation unfolded on Oct. 20 after a game at Greenview Shores Park, according to CBS12. Investigators identified Mayer as the coach of the UCF Knights youth flag football team and the father of one of the juvenile players involved in the dispute, according to WPBF. Deputies went to Mayer's Lake Worth-area home Wednesday to question him and his daughter about what happened that day.
A Postgame Handshake Line Turns Into a Fight
The trouble reportedly started as teams were exchanging postgame handshakes, after one team had won 6-0. A referee told deputies that one player grabbed another by the hair and pulled her to the ground, the station's report notes, and a broader fight soon broke out between two players before a group fell to the ground.
The arrest report says Mayer then intervened and was seen putting an opposing coach in a chokehold, per the same account. Mayer told deputies he stepped between his daughter and another player in an attempt to separate them, and the teen's father reportedly stepped in after Mayer intervened.
Conflicting Accounts of Who Was Choked
Accounts of exactly who was placed in a chokehold and for how long diverge across the available reporting. WPBF reported that the alleged victim said Mayer placed him in a chokehold during the altercation, making it difficult for him to breathe, while CBS12 reported that the alleged victim's father told deputies Mayer held his daughter in a chokehold for about 15 seconds, during which she remained conscious but had trouble breathing. An independent witness also reported seeing Mayer's arm around the alleged victim's neck, which WPBF says deputies cited in determining there was probable cause for the strangulation charge.
The alleged victim was taken by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue to Palms West Hospital for evaluation. Mayer, for his part, denied choking anyone and told deputies he was only trying to separate the two girls involved in the fight.
Daughter Also Facing a Battery Charge
Mayer's 16-year-old daughter was also arrested and charged with misdemeanor battery in connection with the brawl. According to her account to deputies, she grabbed the other player by the shirt after the two began fighting, and she said her father grabbed her around the shoulder and upper body to try to pull her away, during which she kicked her legs in an effort to get free.
Deputies determined there was probable cause to charge Mayer's daughter with simple battery in addition to the felony count against her father. A parent at the scene managed to photograph the license plate of Mayer's car and provided that information to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, which helped investigators track him down more than a week after the incident.
What Florida Law Says About the Charge
Under Florida Statute 784.041, felony battery involves intentionally touching or striking another person against that person's will and causing great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement. The statute classifies felony battery or domestic battery by strangulation as a third-degree felony, and it describes battery by strangulation as intentionally impeding a person's normal breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat or neck or by blocking the nose or mouth.
