A Saturday afternoon Pop Warner football game in Florida turned into a crime scene after a local mother allegedly charged onto the field to punch and kick a 13-year-old boy. The Lee County Sheriff’s Office arrested 34-year-old Renee Lambert following the physical altercation during a matchup between the Southwest Florida Panthers and the Fort Myers Falcons.
Deputies working a detail at the park were alerted to a fight on the field involving players from both teams.
However, video footage captured an escalation when Lambert, whose son was not even on the field at the time, joined the fray. The footage shows Lambert throwing punches and kicking a juvenile player on the opposing team.
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Lambert initially claimed to deputies that she was acting in self-defense, alleging a child had struck her with a helmet. Investigators later disproved that claim. Body camera footage released by the sheriff’s office shows Lambert continuing to argue with deputies during her arrest, at one point asking an officer, “Are you mad at them for hitting me?”
“I’m mad at an adult for attacking a kid,” the deputy replied. “Stop. You’re detained right now.”
Sheriff Carmine Marceno spoke out against the violence, emphasizing that adult intervention in a youth sports scuffle is unacceptable.
“You got a bunch of 13-year-olds fighting on the field. Well, that parent takes this into her own hands. She comes on the field, she grabs a kid, and she starts striking the kid. We have no room for this,” Marceno said.
Lambert, who has no prior criminal history, was charged with cruelty towards a child—abuse without great bodily harm—and resisting an officer. Despite the chaos, Jones defended the local football community, calling Lambert “one bad apple” in an otherwise amazing organization.
The game was immediately canceled following the incident. Lambert was booked into the Lee County Jail on Saturday and released the following Sunday.
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