Cops: Toms River Dad Tackles, Assaults Football Coach

A Toms River father has been charged with assault after he tackled the coach of his son’s youth football team on Sunday after the coach announced the team was being disbanded midseason due to poor sportsmanship.

Joseph Oleske, 46, was arrested at Toms River High School North on Sunday evening after the incident, said Ralph Stocco, Toms River Police Department spokesman.

The fight occurred about 7 30 p.m., after an American Youth Football game between the Toms River North Indians and the Toms River Raiders. The fight involved Oleske and the coach of the the Indians, the team where Oleske’s son plays. The AYF team uses the high school field for its games; the AYF teams’ nicknames do not match the ones used by the high schools. 

According to the police report filed by Officer Joshua Pedalino, the fight between Oleske and the coach, a 45-year-old Toms River resident, broke out after the coach informed the team after the game that its season was over and told the players to turn in their uniforms, Stocco said.

The coach told police he had made the announcement as a disciplinary measure, because players had been continuously displaying poor sportsmanship and bad attitudes, Stocco said.

Oleske, who had been videotaping the game from the stadium’s broadcast booth, told police he only went to talk to the coach about his comments to the players after the game after hearing that the coach announced the season was over, Stocco said. Oleski said he acted in self-defense when the coach “took an aggressive stance,” Stocco said.

The coach told police Oleske ran across the field and tackled him without provocation or warning, Stocco said. The two men fought until bystanders pulled them apart, according to the police report.

Pedalino interviewed several people and determined Oleske was the sole aggressor and arrested him, Stocco said. Oleske was released on his own recognizance pending a court hearing.

Patch is seeking comment from the league and the Toms River Indians and will update as information becomes available.