Profanity-laden shouting matches and brawls are becoming new spectacles at sports games for kids, but it’s not the children who are getting into fights. Parents are the problem. Recently, an altercation broke out at a North Texas youth baseball game among a parent and a coach.
The baseball game took place in June between the Plano Sports Association Monarchs and the North Texas Rangers. The last batter for the Monarchs struck out, igniting heated comments between a parent and the assistant coach for the Monarchs. The entire altercation was caught on video, which showed the coach running around the fence to confront the parent. The parent and coach fought until the police were called.
An altercation can hurt your custody arrangement
Parents should curb their competitive spirit at games for several reasons. Aside from putting everyone at risk of getting injured, it can be detrimental to a child custody arrangement. Divorced or separated parents may risk their position as a custodial parent or their visitation time by showing unfit parental behavior. Brawls may affect a child custody arrangement for three main reasons.
- Brawls put children in danger. The court will not be happy to hear that a parent not only put their own child in danger, but other children in harm’s way. Public brawls indicate an inability to control anger and physical violence.
- There will be video evidence. Everyone has a video camera in their pocket, meaning there is a great chance that a fight will be recorded. The court will have video evidence of the fight, which may not paint the parent in a good light.
- The parent/child relationship will be jeopardized. A public brawl will put both the personal and legal parent/child relationship at jeopardy. While it may not one’s first consideration in a heated moment, the consequences can be long-lasting.
How to help a custody case
While you may know what not to do, certain behaviors can help increase your chance of winning child custody in Texas. Learning more about the family justice system, inviting a home evaluator, arriving to court prepared and enlisting help from an experienced Board-Certified Family Law expert attorney can be greatly beneficial to your case.