Tommie Campbell Charged After Alleged Incident With His Son at Youth Game
Former NFL player Tommie Campbell faces charges after an alleged incident involving his 6-year-old son during a youth football game.
Former NFL player Tommie Campbell was accused of physically confronting his six-year-old son during a youth football game in Beaver County. Campbell was working as a youth football coach at the time. Beaver County District Attorney Nate Bible said video showed the incident starting on the field before moving near a portable toilet.
How the incident unfolded for Campbell
The child was not injured, according to Bible. The video shows Campbell yelling at his son during the game. The 6-year-old then raised his hands, and Campbell allegedly slapped them away before taking the boy off the field.
And then near the portable toilet, Bible said Campbell grabbed the child, lifted him off the ground, and held him at eye level against the structure while continuing to yell. Bible mentioned the physical difference between the former professional athlete and the young child when explaining why the incident led to criminal charges.
“I think what really did it for me is looking at the size discrepancy,” Bible said. “You have a former NFL athlete that is probably stronger than most of the people in Beaver County and this very small child that is essentially like a rag doll.”
Tommie Campbell's youth football role
Campbell was not simply attending the game as a parent. He was coaching youth football at the time, a role that Bible said added weight to the decision to file charges.
“Kids look up to you,” Bible said. “They're playing sports, they want to be like you, they want to be where you were.”
The Central Valley Youth Football League held an emergency board meeting after the incident and voted to remove Campbell from his coaching position. Campbell, an Aliquippa native, played college football at Pitt, Edinboro and Cal U before the Tennessee Titans selected him in the seventh round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He later played for the Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
Campbell faces simple assault and harassment charges and is scheduled for a preliminary hearing next month. He has not responded to a request for comment.