A 37-year-old Florida man has been arrested after allegedly placing a teenage girl in a chokehold following a flag football game in Palm Beach County.
Brandon Mayer was coaching on October 20 when he allegedly restrained a player for approximately 15 seconds during the postgame handshake line. He faces a felony charge of battery by strangulation.
Mayer’s 16-year-old daughter was also arrested. She is accused of attacking the same player and has been charged with misdemeanor battery.
According to an arrest report obtained by South Florida CBS affiliate CBS12.com, Mayer denied putting anyone in a chokehold when questioned by officers. The Daily Mail has requested a copy of the report from the department.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Mayer and his daughter on Wednesday. Police have not publicly identified the teenager because she is a minor.
Sophia Lopez, 15, has identified herself as the alleged victim. She and her father, Ryan Lopez, described the confrontation in interviews with CBS12.com.
Brandon Mayer, 37, was coaching on October 20 when he allegedly held a player in a 15-second chokehold during postgame handshakes. He has been charged with battery by strangulation.
Sophia said the teenager began mocking her after the game. “She started making fun of me for losing the game,” she said. “The one thing I said to her that set her off was, ‘You just fell on your face, and it’s a rec game.’”
The 16-year-old allegedly seized Sophia by the hair and pulled her to the ground. Witnesses told investigators that Mayer then stepped in and placed Sophia in a chokehold. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue later took Sophia to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
“It felt like everything was so tight,” Sophia said. “It felt like I was never going to get out until I just saw black.”
She also described severe pain and bruising following the incident. “It felt like somebody was stabbing me in my stomach, and I checked and there were just bruises everywhere,” Sophia said. “My body was so tense and hurting because it was regaining oxygen. It was very painful.”
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Ryan Lopez said he rushed to help his daughter after seeing what was happening. A police report obtained by CBS12.com states that Sophia has non-epileptic seizures and appeared to be losing consciousness while Mayer was holding her.
“It was a complete choke,” Ryan said. “He was pulling her forward and trying to pull her back, but not by her waist, which would have been the common-sense thing to do.”
“It was terrifying,” he added. “It was terrifying for me, and it was terrifying for the parents who were there.”
Ryan said the confrontation continued even after he tried to intervene.
“All I did was pull [Mayer] down, and while I was trying to get up, [Mayer’s daughter] pulled my chain and kicked me in the face with her cleat,” he said.
A 2022 flag football game in Illinois shows athletes competing in the growing sport, which has become especially popular in Florida, where more than 10,000 girls play competitively.
Witnesses photographed Mayer’s license plate and gave the information to Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies.
The Lopez family told CBS12.com that Mayer and his daughter have since been removed from the league.
Mayer was released from jail Thursday after posting a $7,500 bond.
Although organized flag football remains relatively new in many parts of the United States, Florida students—particularly girls—have played in competitive leagues for decades. State records show that more than 10,000 girls currently compete at the high school level.
Flag football is also scheduled to make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
