A disagreement between two youth football coaches allegedly led to the death of Mike Hickmon, a 43-year-old offensive coordinator for the D.E.A. Dragons.
During a Saturday evening game, Hickmon was allegedly shot to death by 39-year-old Yaqub Talib — a coach on the opposing team. The Lancaster Police Department, a Texas-based organization, confirmed during their news report that the incident occurred at approximately 9:00 p.m. roughly 15 miles outside of Dallas.
According to a witness, a “disagreement between the opposing coaching staff of two youth football teams over calls made by the officiating crew” ultimately led to a physical altercation. Talib, who is the brother of ex-NFL player Aqib Talib, shot the opposing coach multiple times and fled the scene. When first responders arrived, Hickmon was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead.
As of now, Talib faces a single count of first-degree murder and has not yet entered a plea deal for his charge.
Following his murder, the Lancaster community mourns the life of Hickmon. Dragons’ president Mike Freeman expressed his grief in a statement to media outlets and recognized the defensive coordinator as a “great father, great man, great role model, [and] great mentor.”
Lancaster youth football participants mourn the loss of Mike Hickmon
“I held his son, Little Mike Jr., and I held him like my son, and it was very, very, very hard to hold him and console him because again… just letting him know that we’ll be there for him,” Freeman continued. “This is something that these kids will remember for the rest of their life. They’ll never forget this moment.”
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Of the witnesses in the crowd, approximately 80 children were at the scene of the crime for their youth football games, including the 43-year-old coach’s son. Members of the crowd were quick to disapprove of the violence, Hickmon’s friend Tevar Watson, who was reportedly on another field at the time of the incident, even called the shooting “senseless.”
“Yesterday was probably the worst day of my life,” Watson said. “Lost a good guy — what we call a standup guy, one of the guys that’s there for his family.”
On Monday, Talib turned himself into local authorities for the murder of Hickmon. Per his attorney, Clark Birdsall, he is deeply remorseful for his actions.
“Mr. Talib regrets the tragic loss of life but went ahead and turned himself into the law this morning so his side of the story could be told,” Birdsall stated.
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