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Upset dad defends his actions at game
By CHRIS TISCH
© St. Petersburg Times, CLEARWATER -- Jeffrey Harris says all he wanted to do was talk to his sons, both of whom play on the Clearwater High School football team. At the homecoming game Friday night, he thought one of them appeared upset during the first half. So he pulled both boys out of the locker room at halftime to talk to them, he said, but an assistant coach tried to get the boys back inside. "The coach would not let me talk to my boys," Harris said Tuesday. "I said, 'My boys are more important than any team.' As far as I knew, they could have been in danger." Minutes later, Harris, 39, had pepper spray in his face and handcuffs around his wrists. Clearwater police officers arrested Harris on a disorderly conduct charge after he began screaming, refused to leave and "took a fighting stance" with police, all of which drew a large crowd around the locker room, police reports state. Harris said he wanted to talk to his sons, Chad, a junior, and Jason, a freshman, because they appeared unhappy in the first half. Harris said he believes Chad has been unhappy because he has been moved to different positions on the team. As for Jason, Harris said he has been unhappy because coaches promised him a certain amount of playing time if he joined the varsity squad, but haven't followed through. "They work all summer to sit on the sidelines," he said. "Come game time, they don't even call his (Jason's) number." Harris said he based his belief that Jason was upset during the first half because he saw him pacing the sidelines and thought he was crying. "I was just there to talk to my boys and there's no law that says you can't talk to your boys," said Harris, who coaches little league football. "I coach. I know what goes on. I've never told a parent he can't talk to his son. "If a parent sees something wrong with their kid, they would go see what's wrong." Clearwater football Coach Tom Bostic said Harris' sons both get playing time. Chad started at running back Friday night, while Jason returns kicks and punts and is a backup cornerback. Bostic said the boys are treated the same as anyone on the team. When coaches tried to coax Harris to let his sons back into the locker room Friday night, Harris threatened to take them home, according to police reports. A coach then said they were wearing school uniforms, so Harris demanded the boys take off their gear and uniforms. Assistant principal Kevin Gordon, who by this point was at the scene of the dispute, said he didn't want the boys to be embarrassed when they took off their uniform pants. But Harris said Tuesday that his sons were wearing shorts underneath their football pants. "The only embarrassment was when they gave Clearwater High School their equipment back," Harris said. Harris, who is 6-feet-1 and 240 pounds, said he wasn't shouting at first, but began shouting as the dispute dragged on. He denied taking a fighting stance with police. "I went to jail, but Chad and Jason did not go back in that locker room," he said. "I was protecting my boys. I'm a father. I was protecting my family." The boys did not play during the second half because their mother took them home after their father was arrested. But the boys remain on the team and practiced Monday, their father said. Clearwater was ahead of St. Petersburg 7-6 at halftime Friday. They lost the lead in the third quarter en route to a 28-7 loss. Bostic said he wouldn't blame the incident for his team's play in the second half, but said: "It definitely wasn't positive."
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