A Northern Colorado assistant has been reprimanded by the athletics department after tossing a piece of his broken clipboard into the stands and injuring an opposing fan.
The coach in question is offensive coordinator Max McCaffrey, eldest son of head coach Ed McCaffrey.
According eyewitness accounts provided to the Denver Post, McCaffrey snapped his clipboard after UNC quarterback Dylan McCaffrey, Max's brother, tossed an interception in the Bears' most recent game at Montana State.
“I said, ‘Hey coach, maybe you should focus on how small your pants are, rather than breaking a clipboard,” Montana State student Max Demarias said in a text to the paper. McCaffrey then tossed the broken clipboard into the stands, where it hit a man estimated to be in his 60s. He received brief medical attention but was not seriously injured.
“While Coach Max McCaffrey’s tossing of a souvenir into the stands showed poor judgment, it was clear there was no intent to harm nor was the action fueled by anger. Max is embarrassed by the incident and is working privately to apologize to the fan hit by the errant toss,“ UNC AD Darren Dunn said in a statement. “After visiting with Max and the entire football staff, I am confident we will have no further engagement with fans of our opponents.”
Northern Colorado lost the game, 40-7.