Before this alleged assault, Byron Mathis was already on deferred adjudication for choking a family member and punching his then-girlfriend's 14-year-old child years ago.
[Ads /]
He's a father of two and was previously very active with the Fresno Gators football team, which is why some parents are so concerned.
On Tuesday night, the Fresno Gators' president and coach said Mathis is "no longer around the team or associated with the team."
Mathis didn't have much to say in probable cause court on Tuesday, facing a judge on injury to a child charges stemming from a November 2017 hotel party.
His son's youth football team was having a birthday party for one of the players at the Embassy Suites Hotel, near the Galleria.
According to court documents, Mathis' son and a teammate got into it over a video game controller. Hair was pulled and Mathis' son got kicked.
From there, Mathis is accused of grabbing the teammate by the neck, choking and slamming him against a wall.
"First of all, he had no right touching him whatsoever," parent Liz Gonzalez said. "If he saw there was an issue, something could be hollered out. I mean, I've had situations where someone is like 'Hey, hey. Stop that', or something."
[Ads /]
The 10-year-old victim said when Mathis slammed him against the wall, he could not breathe and felt the back of his head hurting and tingling.
I went by Mathis' mother's home to see if they wanted to discuss the allegations, but no one answered. His wife told me via text she didn't want to be involved.
Gonzalez doesn't know if Mathis' past trouble with the law indicates a bigger anger problem, but says it's troubling nonetheless.
"It upsets me to think even something like this could happen," Gonzalez said.
Mathis' bond was set at $35,000.