A Dallas-area high school water polo player is facing an assault charge after allegedly attacking an opponent during a match in April.
Chase Dion, a 17-year-old from Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas, was arrested and charged with assault causing a bodily injury, which is a Class A misdemeanor.
The alleged incident took place on April 15 at Keller Natatorium, and Dion was arrested on April 25.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit obtained by NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, Dion struck an opponent in the face with a closed fist multiple times and held the victim underwater.
A video sent to The Dallas Morning News after the season concluded showed the alleged assailant grabbing the victim and striking him moments after he scored the game-winning goal in the closing seconds of the game.
“It should be noted that even though the assault occurs in the middle of a sporting event, it was not a part of the event itself, and based on video surveillance, Chase intentionally targets the juvenile victim,” Keller Police said, according to NBCDFW.
The victim, a player on the St. Mark’s High School team, was treated at a nearby hospital after the incident for a left eye corneal abrasion, according to the police report.
Dion was a junior this year, was released on $2,500 bond and did not participate in the state water polo tournament.
Class A misdemeanors are punishable by up to a $4,000 fine and one year in jail.
And he is now banned by USA water polo, but not UIL – crazy how things like this work. And of course his dad is still coaching him. All the while, his assault case is progressing through the courts.
Awful story. What isn’t mentioned is that the assailant is the son of the Marcus water polo coach. He is also a coach at Thunder Water Polo club. Last I checked he is still employed by both – hard to see how he isn’t held somewhat accountable for his son’s actions. This wasn’t a scuffle – this was an unprovoked attack.
So if his son assaulted someone at school, would he be held responsible for this as well? Or if this was any other player on the team, would the coach be held responsible here as well?
Just because its his son who made what appears to be a very egregious mistake, I’m not sure asking for his dad to be fired seems like an appropriate response.
Just my 2 cents – I’m going with – if he had a player lose control like this he probably should be suspended. The fact that it is his son makes him seem more culpable and I could see him being fired. This is a minor we are talking about who assaulted another player.
Coach Dion absolutely should not be removed from Marcus or Thunder. He’s one of the most dedicated and hardworking coaches, who genuinely cares about all his athletes. Anyone who doesn’t personally know him doesn’t need to be judging him. He has done absolutely nothing wrong that would warrant any action against him. As for his son’s actions that occurred after the water polo match had ended, that incident is being reviewed and isn’t anyone else’s business either. It’s unfortunate how people judge, not even personally knowing either of the parties involved, instead of just allowing natural consequences to run their course. Everyone makes mistakes. The hope is we learn from them and positively move forward in life. Marcus is an… Read more »
You have got to be kidding me. He was so badly injured that he was able to assault the kid after the injury – including breaking his orbital bone.