Twilight 'Zona: Tennis Seniors Arrested

Here we go again. How many stories like this are we going to get?

Stories of senseless tennis violence. And what do you get when this happens?

Ray Moore and George Morell know. Moore was wrestled to the ground by a cop, a knee in his back while he was cuffed, apparently bleeding. Both were arrested, and spent the bulk of the day in jail.

"There were five cop cars there,'' said Donna Morell, George's wife. "Five. My husband and Ray were in different cells all day, in solitary.''

Surely, they deserved it.

"They're in their 80s, you know,'' she said.

Have I forgotten to mention that part? Morell is 85 and Moore 82. They were playing tennis at their club in the Sun City West, Ariz. retirement community, where they have been members for years. Morell, apparently, didn't show his membership card before taking the court.

When asked for it, he produced a photocopy, not the original.

That was the offense. From there, an argument is understandable, but somehow it got all the way to the club calling police, and the officers throwing them in jail after a ruckus.

Let me repeat: These guys have been members there for years.

When 80-somethings take the court, as Morell does three times a week, you applaud, you feel good about them and about tennis. You feel good about the possibilities of life.

You do not wrestle them to the ground and cuff them for not showing a card, especially when most everyone there must recognize them by now.

I want to apologize publicly here to Donna, because every time she said something to explain this story, I kept laughing out loud.

For example, when I asked why George had a photocopy of his card.

"He loses his card all the time,'' she said. "So he made a copy and put it in his tennis bag. He has been using that copy for two years.''

And, "He was arrested for trespassing at a club where he's a member.''

And, "He has a lawyer. Well, a retired lawyer.''

I'm envisioning Morell walking into the club, approaching the person behind the counter. Let's call that person Phil.

George: "Hey Phil, how's it going?''

Phil: "Fine, George, how's the sciatica?''

George: "Much better, thanks. I'm going to take the court now.''

Phil: "I'll need to see some identification, please.''

No, it couldn't have happened that way. And were these a couple of cranky old guys?

Probably. You would be cranky too.

Some reports in the Phoenix media say they were physically threatening.

But exactly how threatening could they be?

The police report suggests that Morell jumped on the officer's back when Moore was taken down.

"That didn't happen,'' Donna said. "He put his arm on her shoulder. She (the officer) had Ray down on the ground with her knee on his back.

"Ray had a heart attack last year. He was concerned about the man.''

The report also says that Moore hurt his arm during the scuffle and tried to wipe the blood on the officer.

It's lucky he didn't break a hip.

Well, there's a clear social message in all of this, and it's ...

No, there is no message. This is just the most ridiculous thing that has ever happened.

Imagine the picture of a female cop wrestling some old guy in tennis shorts to the ground, and another guy coming over to help his friend with a bad heart? Where's YouTube when you need it?

I did call the Maricopa County police Tuesday afternoon and was bounced to a media spokesperson. I left one message and two emails asking her for details, arrest reports and explanations of the absurd. No response yet.

But the local CBS affiliate there had quotes from the arresting deputy in court records. Apparently, Moore jerked his hands away when the officer was trying to cuff him.

So, "I grabbed Moore from behind and lifted him. Moore then fell back toward me as I guided him to the floor ... George came over to where I was trying to detain Raymond. George attempted to come over my back to assist Raymond.''

That's not the most ridiculous part. Katy O'Grady, a spokesperson for the Recreation Centers of Sun City West, reportedly said, "They've known the rules for years and we have to enforce them ... We tried over three different notifications to this person that he had to have his real card. It's a private community and you've got to have some control over who's using the facilities.''

You know who was using the facilities. It's the guy you've been telling to bring his card.

Common sense anybody? The guy keeps misplacing his card. The place has golf, billiards, tennis, all kinds of stuff.

So rather than needing to find the card each time, he made photocopies and stuffed one in his tennis bag.

You know how young girls seem to be attracted to bad boys? I wonder if it works that way in retirement villages, too.

"My lawyer said I shouldn't talk,'' George said Tuesday. "Well, he's not a lawyer anymore.''

George, a World War II vet, is going to court Thursday for trespassing and for hindering the officer. More details are sure to come. I can't wait.

Morell did say he has been a volunteer teacher there for 14 years, teaching seniors Microsoft Word.

Sorry class, he won't be there this week. George says they won't let him in the building anymore.

Not even if he has his card?

Email me at gregcouch09@aol.com