Two Jailed in Coach Assault

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) â€” The father and uncle of a high school football player have each been sentenced to 45 days in jail for attacking the boy's coach after a losing game. <br><br>John Martinez,

Wednesday, November 29th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TORRANCE, Calif. (AP) â€” The father and uncle of a high school football player have each been sentenced to 45 days in jail for attacking the boy's coach after a losing game.

John Martinez, 34, and his brother, Anthony Martinez, 23, allegedly knocked Torrance South High School coach Brett Peabody to the ground last month and beat him when he refused to give John Martinez Jr. more playing time.

The two pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges.

Superior Court Judge Thomas P. Allen Jr. on Tuesday imposed the maximum one-year jail term, to be suspended after 45 days. He also imposed fines and three years' probation and ordered the two men to take a year of anger management classes.

``Both of them expressed regret for what they did,'' said Mory Struhl, the Martinez' attorney. ``They just want to put it behind them now.''

Peabody, 29, said he was knocked to the ground and repeatedly kicked and beaten after the team lost to a rival high school.

John Martinez Jr., a senior running back who had a big rushing season last year, played most of the game on defense, while another senior and a sophomore racked up most of the game's rushing yardage.

According to Peabody, the elder Martinez asked him: ``Did you forget you have two senior running backs?''