| 76 Incidents |
| 27 DEATHS |
| 49 Injuries |
Investigated by the
US Consumer Product Safety Commission -Jay DeMarco
Here in the United States, Soccer is the fastest growing sport ever, however
we have more football fields than we do Soccer Fields, therefore soccer leagues borrow
football fields and have as many as 10 strong men carry these homemade soccer goal posts
onto the fields. The weight of these goals range from 300 to over 500 pounds. The scenario
is usually when a soccer league is started up money is donated by a company willing to
donate the funds in turn for free advertising of the companies name on soccer uniforms and
the donation helps out at income tax season. A manufactured pair of goals are very
expensive and the goalposts are usually the last item to purchase, since the balls and
uniforms are needed first. When the funds run out, teams find ways to diversify and have
the goals made by a welder or such. Unfortunately no one seems to think about the
recourse, if this goal post falls over on someone.
October 2003 Another Death reported
from Vernon Hills, IL, the child was6 years old. The victim was playing goalie,when
the unan- chored goal fell over on him .{see incident
page} |
|
Daniel Owen Taunton was
killed when a 500 lb. soccer goal fell on him while playing with his dog at a neighborhood
park. He was 10 years old. |
We must all physically check soccer goal posts when we see them and report
them to the organization who is responsible for any negligence on the premises of the
property. For instance if the unanchored goal is in a city park, you should contact the
city and report an unsafe soccer goalpost in that cities park and ask for a call back of
when the problem is taken care of, and if you dont hear back, write a letter to the
city manager stating the problem and leave your email address on the contact page of this
website and I will make a file to make sure the problem is taken care of. |