Staff ReportThree young men accused of assaulting the Salisbury High School junior varsity basketball coach were upset because they didn’t think the coach was giving one of his players enough time on the court, according to police.
But the mother of two of the boys contends the coach pushed her and grabbed one of her sons first.
Coach Chris Yeary, of Concord, was picking up his clipboard from the bench when Dezmond Stockdale, 16, and two other young men he didn’t recognize approached him, according to Salisbury Police Chief Mark Wilhelm.
Police later identified one of the suspects as 18-year-old Tasman Jamal Stockdale, Dezmond’s brother, Wilhelm said, but have not yet identified the third person involved.
The two brothers and the other suspect cursed Yeary and surrounded him, Wilhelm said.
Yeary told police he was walking toward the end of the gym to leave when one of the men stood in front of him and cursed him.
Wilhelm said Yeary told the young man to “get out of his face.”
One member of the group told Yeary they were mad because he didn’t give his brother enough playing time during the game, Wilhelm said. He declined to name the JV player around whom the argument centered.
“He told them if they had a problem with that, they could take it up with the athletic director,” Wilhelm said.
Immediately afterward, he said, the three men assaulted Yeary, kicking him in the face, back and shoulders.
Wilhelm said Yeary fell to the floor and the group continued to assault him.
Someone called police and when Officer A.L. Bouk arrived at the gym, Yeary was sitting on the floor in the basement near the locker rooms complaining of pain in his neck, face and shoulders. EMS arrived and treated Yeary but he refused transportation to the hospital.
Yeary went to Rowan Regional Medical Center in a private vehicle and was treated for a back sprain and bruises to his face, Wilhelm said.
Wilhelm said he didn’t know how many other people were in the gym at the time of the assault, but one man tried to help get the suspects off Yeary.
Rita Foil, the Rowan-Salisbury School System’s public information officer, said Yeary was back at work Monday.
Sonji Clegg, the Stockdale boys’ mother, said Tuesday that her children were upset because one of her sons wasn’t getting enough playing time.
Clegg said she approached Yeary to talk with him about the problem and he pushed her on the shoulder and told her to talk to Joe Pinion, the athletic director.
Clegg also said Yeary grabbed one of her sons by the collar and her other son punched him.
While Clegg was still talking to Pinion, she said, Yeary approached her and pushed her in the breast area.
Wilhelm confirmed that Clegg did accuse Yeary of sexually assaulting her, but he said the police department doesn’t plan to charge the coach.
“There’s nothing in this report to indicate that he has committed any crime,” Wilhelm said.
Yeary told police that he did bump into Clegg on his way out the door after he was assaulted.
Wilhelm said the officer talked to Clegg about the incident and told her that she needed to tell her son and the two other young men with him to go to the police department and talk to an officer.
Clegg got angry and told the officer she didn’t know who was with her son, the police report said.
Dezmond and Tasman Stockdale, both of 1177 Landsdown Drive, are each charged with assault on a school employee.
Foil said only one of the three suspects was a student, but that she didn’t know which one. The student has been suspended for 10 days and other disciplinary measures could follow, Foil said.
Wilhelm said school administrators decide whether to have police security at sports events.
Salisbury High School did not have an officer at the JV basketball game Friday night. Foil said the school usually doesn’t have an officer at the JV games because administrators judge security needs by the size of the crowds.
Salisbury High School Principal Dr. Windsor Eagle has now assigned two assistant principals to attend all JV games, Foil said.