Lynn woman says Pop Warner coach assaulted her son

LYNN, Mass. (WHDH) -- A Lynn woman wants a Pop Warner football coach suspended after she said he assaulted her son.
The mother said the coach picked her son up by the collar and hung him over a stadium railing during an argument. But the coach said the incident never occurred.
“The child was yelling obscenities so I went up to the stands to let him know that he had to leave,” said Duke Wilson, Pop Warner coach.
Coach Duke Wilson said he can’t believe what happened at Manning Field last week exploded into assault charges. Elijah McConney, 15, was in the stands watching his younger brother play Pop Warner football when the coach said the teen yelled an expletive.
“All I did was place my hand on his shoulder and point and said, ‘Let’s go.’ I didn't grab or nothing. He just flailed his hand and pushed me,” said Wilson.
The teen's mom tells a different story.
“’Eastland sucks,’ before he knew he turned around and Coach Duke had snatched him up and was like, ‘Let’s go, it’s time to leave,’ and my son brushed his arm off and said, ‘I’m not going anywhere,’ so he took him by his collar and hung him over the fence,” said Renee Poisson, teen’s mother.
Renee Poisson said when she arrived at the field to pick up her two boys, her younger son told her what happened and she immediately called police.
“It might not have been the right choice of words to use and I'm not saying what my son did was right but he's the adult in the situation,” Poisson said.
Wilson said the teen, whom he's coached before, was yelling obscenities in front of families and the only thing he did was try to escort the boy out of the stadium.
“I am disappointed because I do know the kid. The kid played basketball for me a few years back, and I’ve seen him at games, called me coach, shook my hand,” Wilson said.
Poisson has filed assault charges against Wilson, and Wilson has filed charges against the teen.



