A children’s basketball coach and her father were arrested after police said they attacked another coach and his wife during an argument that unfolded following a game played by second graders, according to authorities.
Brittany Ortiz, 38, of Malvern, and her father, William Stanley, 70, of Paoli, are accused of assaulting the couple following a Malvern Basketball League game hosted at the Holy Child School at Rosemont on February 1, according to Patch.com.
The opposing coach, his wife and the coach’s 3-year-old daughter were all injured as a result of the alleged assault, authorities said, the outlet reported.
Ortiz is an assistant coach for one of the Malvern Basketball League’s teams, according to investigators, Patch.com reported.
She is facing nine criminal charges, including one count of assault on a sports official, three counts of simple assault, one count of recklessly endangering another person, one count disorderly conduct involving fighting, and three counts of harassment, court records viewed by Us Weekly show.
Stanley was also arrested on related charges including assault on a sports official and simple assault, WPVI-TV reported.
“Unfortunately, this took place in the hallway of the gym immediately following the game, after some verbal sparring on the court during the game,” Lower Merion Police Department Lieutenant Michael Keenan told the TV station.
A criminal complaint says that an argument between Ortiz and the opposing team’s coach ensued after the other coach went to confront her “about her behavior,” the TV station reported.
The verbal argument turned physical in a hallway following the game, when investigators said Ortiz grabbed ahold of the other coach’s wife’s hair and slammed her to the hallway’s tile floor, according to the TV station.
The woman’s head hit the ground, according to the criminal complaint viewed by WPVI-TV.
As the other coach, who had been holding his toddler, tried to intervene, Stanley allegedly hit him in the head, according to investigators, the TV station reported.
After the alleged assault, the wife, who lost pieces of her hair, had a concussion and a head contusion, according to the criminal complaint also viewed by NBC10 Philadelphia.
The other coach had bruises on his inner leg, and his child also had a bruise on her leg, the filing says, the outlet reported.
An attorney representing Ortiz told NBC10 Philadelphia that he will “vigorously defend” her in court.
The attorney’s name was not listed in court records viewed by Us.
Attorney Nathan J. Schadler, who represents Stanley, said in an emailed statement to Us on Tuesday, February 24, that “Mr. Stanley asserts his complete innocence in this matter.”
“Mr. Stanley was taken to the hospital with broken ribs and a head injury as a result of this incident and, in fact, it was his family who called 911,” Schadler added. “We are conducting a full investigation into the matter to present a complete picture of the incident.”
A spokesperson for the Holy Child School at Rosemont told NBC10 Philadelphia that the Malvern Basketball League was renting the school’s gym for the game.
The league did not immediately return a request for comment.
“It’s incumbent on coaches and adults alike at any children’s sporting event to act like the adults in the room, because we are,” Keenan told WPVI-TV. “We’re there to foster a safe learning and playing environment for the kids. People get heated, it’s understandable. We like to compete. But when your little kids are involved, and you are their stewards, you have to act like it.”
