Spring Grove High School football player arrested over attack on official

Northern York County Regional Police

Northern York County Regional Police Photo by Becky Metrick

A two-way football star at Spring Grove High School in York County was arrested on aggravated assault charges Wednesday stemming from his intentional tackle of an official who had worked Spring Grove’s game on Friday, Oct. 1.

Court records show Tyree D. Brooks, an 18-year-old senior at the school, was charged by Northern York County Regional Police after their investigation into the incident at the end of Spring Grove High School’s home varsity game against Dover. A staffer at York County Prison confirmed Brooks had been committed to the prison after the arraignment, in lieu of $25,000 bail.

PennLive was not able to obtain the criminal complaint filed against Brooks Wednesday afternoon.

But according to reports from CBS 21 News in Harrisburg, Spring Grove football coach Kyle Sprenkle told investigators Brooks had been ejected from the game in the third quarter, after receiving two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

Sprenkle, according to CBS21, told police that, after his ejection, Brooks had been emotional on the sidelines for about 5 minutes, but then was calm for the remainder of the game. The station’s report said the coach then told police at the end of the game he saw Brooks bolting onto the field towards the official who had thrown the penalties on him.

The station is reporting police said Brooks at that point intentionally tackled the official and drove him to the ground. Once on the ground, according to the news station’s report, police said Brooks stayed on top of the official, raised his left arm and hit him on the head with a closed fist.

The attack ended, News21′s report stated, when Brooks was “forcefully removed from the official” by Spring Grove coaches and staff.

The official was treated at the scene for a cut by the athletic trainer on site, and seemed disoriented when he was first interviewed. But a Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association official told the York Daily Record he had spoken with the official on Saturday morning and that he’s “doing OK.”

Police also said that in the minutes after the incident Friday night, witnesses said they heard Brooks say several times that he “knew what he was doing” and “had thought it through before rushing out onto the field,” according to CBS21′s account.

The York Daily Record reported Wednesday that Brooks’s attorney released a statement on behalf of the player, which stated:

“Tyree accepts responsibility for his conduct and understands that there is no excuse for his actions. Tyree also understands the harm and shame that his actions have brought upon the Spring Grove School District, Spring Grove football team, Dover football team and his family.

“Tyree acknowledges that no one has the right to harm another person and expresses his sincere remorse for his irresponsible and dangerous actions. More importantly, Tyree regrets his actions and understands the physical and emotional harm it has caused to the victim.

“Tyree is committed to addressing the factors that have led to this incident and expresses his sincere determination that this type of incident will never happen again.””

The Spring Grove football team is still continuing its season, the Daily Record reported. The Rockets are currently 5-0 and ranked second in the District 3 Class 5A power rankings. Spring Grove is scheduled to play another York-Adams league powerhouse, Central York, at home this Friday.

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