Dad who tripped 9-year-old in viral youth football clip told police he was trying to 'stop the game'

A youth football game in Wisconsin turned into a viral flashpoint after video showed an adult running onto the field and tripping a 9-year-old player near the end zone. Police later cited a 41-year-old man for disorderly conduct, and the child was not injured.

The play that stunned everyone on the sideline

The incident happened during a 10-and-under game between the Case Eagles and the Milwaukee Colts in Racine County, Wisconsin. Video recorded by spectator Caitlin Ocampo showed an Eagles ball carrier breaking free with open field ahead of him and heading toward the pylon.

As the player ran down the sideline, a man in black shorts and a black T-shirt came onto the field from the visiting side and stuck out his leg. The contact knocked the 9-year-old to the grass short of the touchdown.

Ocampo said the Eagles were ahead by around 20-0 when it happened. She also said Eagles parents were furious and demanded that the man be removed from the game.

Police said the person who entered the field was a parent from the visiting team who had become upset over a play. The father was later identified as being connected to a child on the opposing team.

Police stopped the suspect a short distance away

Mount Pleasant police said officers were called after getting a report that a man had kicked a child during the game. By the time officers arrived, both the suspect and the child were gone from the scene.

According to police, one spectator had captured the incident on video while another parent followed the suspect's vehicle as it left the grounds. Officers then made a traffic stop a short distance away.

Police records said Terrence Ryan Bradshaw, a 41-year-old Milwaukee man, was pulled over at 11:07 a.m. on Highway 20 near Oakes Road, less than half a mile from Case High School. Authorities said he was cooperative, admitted what he had done and acknowledged that he was wrong.

Bradshaw was issued a disorderly conduct citation and released without further incident. Police said he does not have to appear in court if he pays the $313 fine.

What he told officers after the stop

Body camera footage described by police showed Bradshaw apologizing to players and coaches and saying he had lost his cool. He told officers there were bigger kids on the other team than his child and said he had only been trying to stop the game.

He also said he got scared because his son had broken his arm twice before and that he thought his child might get hurt. One officer responded in disbelief, reminding him that the people on the field were children.

Police later discussed the incident among themselves and agreed that a disorderly conduct citation was appropriate. Prosecutors reviewed the case as well and decided the incident did not rise to the level of felony child abuse, so the citation remained the final charge.

The child was okay, but the game did not continue normally

Police said the 9-year-old player was thankfully not injured. His coach, Channing Schultz, also said the child was doing fine.

Schultz said he was away at a family wedding when the game happened and was angry when he learned what took place. He called it the most cowardly thing he had ever seen and said that, despite witnessing fights and other ugly moments at youth events, he had never seen a grown man run onto the field during a game.

He also described the player who was tripped as soft-spoken, hardworking and naturally talented, and said it did not surprise him that the child got up and was ready to keep playing.

Officials awarded a touchdown on the play, and referees ended the game early in an effort to calm tensions between the teams. Schultz also said the Colts had banned the parent from games. The two teams are scheduled to play each other again in two weeks.

What turned the moment into such a widely shared clip was not just the foul itself, but how ordinary the scene looked right before it happened. It was a youth football run to the corner of the end zone, then suddenly an adult stepped into the play. That contrast is a big reason the video spread so quickly, and why the fallout has drawn so much attention.