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Image from video of Tavis Sellers boxing with his teenage son
Facebook screenshot
A Virginia father has turned himself in to Prince William County, Va., police after disturbing video was posted to Facebook showing him boxing with his son for “discipline” and leaving the 17-year-old bloodied, Fox 5 DC reports.
The man, Tavis Sellers, who identified himself as TaDigs Ditches on Facebook, was charged with domestic assault and battery and released on $5,000 unsecured bond. Police are still investigating the incident.
In the video, which Sellers posted to Facebook, the father says that he was disciplining the teenager and teaching him how to defend himself at the same time. The boy reportedly walked out of class but did not notify his father, which prompted the “discipline.”
“He can walk out of class, but call me so I’m on your side. All day went by, he didn’t call—so now it’s discipline time because he didn’t do what I told him to do. He chooses to do what he wants to do,” Sellers says in the video.
The video then shows the two sparring as Sellers scolds his son while punching him. At the end, Sellers goads the boy into talking to the camera, showing the teen in a white shirt spattered with blood and holding a tissue to his nose.
Sellers told Fox 5 DC that he had been ordered to turn himself in on Thursday, but he countered that boxing was a part of their family and it was “no one’s place to judge how he takes care of his business in his house.”
“Blessings come in all forms, and mines came in the form of a great young man to have as a son. I feel I would be the worst disappointment to him if I didn’t do my best to deter him from choices in life that I have seen lead to destruction. The world now has given us platforms to reach out and show your efforts. A lot of people were hurt by this video. And that was not the purpose. I did it to show what has been working for ME,” the caption for the video reads, according to Fox 5 DC.
The boy sustained a busted lip and a bloody nose, the father said, but nothing long-lasting.
A follow-up video of the pair after the “discipline” shows the son, in much better condition, saying that the boxing session helped him get on the right path and that he would not be making the same mistake again, Fox 5 DC notes.
Watch the video below (Warning: The video contains images that some may find disturbing):
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