Mark Elkins
Hanover Park Park District board President Mark Elkins was cited for assault in violation of a Carol Stream ordinance stemming from a verbal confrontation with a 17-year-old soccer referee in June.
According to a partially redacted police report, which cited video footage of a U-14 soccer game between teams from the Hanover Park and Streamwood park districts, Elkins is accused of running onto the field during the second half and yelling at the referee for not giving a foul call.
“The video footage showed Mark rush into the field toward (the referee) pointing his finger at (the referee),” the report reads. “A group of individuals run to the field and surround Mark. Mark continued to follow (the referee) on the field as he walked away from Mark.”
The report also cites a conversation between Elkins and a responding officer recorded by the officer’s body camera.
“I needed to make a show so that he knows I’m calling him out for not calling the game properly,” Elkins is quoted as saying in the report.
According to the police report, after the June 15 game the 17-year-old boy was escorted to his vehicle by adults who witnessed the altercation. The referee reported that he felt scared that Elkins was going to hit him, according to the police report.
Elkins, a member of the park district’s board of commissioners for 30 years, is scheduled to attend a hearing on the alleged ordinance violation Oct. 1.
Hanover Park Park District Executive Director Steve Bessette said the case has not impacted Elkins’ role on the board of commissioners or as a soccer coach for the district. Whether that would be changed by an adjudication or plea of guilty would be up to the board, he added.
Carol Stream police did not release Elkins’ written statement about the event along with their report Monday, but Elkins gave a copy to the Daily Herald.
“During the recent soccer championship game, I had concerns about the fairness of the referee’s calls, specifically regarding tackles that I believed were dangerous and illegal against my players,” Elkins stated. “At half-time, I mentioned my concerns to an employee of the Carol Stream Park District. In the second half, after our star player was hit hard and the referee called a free kick against us rather than the offending player, I stepped onto the field and loudly expressed my concern, ‘You’ve got to make him play the ball, not the man!’ The referee then approached me and issued a red card, instructing me to leave the field.”
Elkins stated that he remained in the area of the field and continued to voice his concerns to others around him about the tackles and the referee’s decisions, with the intent of emphasizing the importance of proper enforcement of the rules.
“My intent was solely to ensure fair play for the remainder of the game during which I would be absent. I eventually left the field and moved to the stands,” Elkins stated. “I did not engage in any physical confrontation with the referee or anyone else. The situation concluded without further escalation, and the game proceeded as scheduled.”
· Daily Herald staff writer Susan Sarkauskas contributed to this report.