CPSC

FRISCO — About 190,000 MacGregor and Mitre folding soccer goals are being recalled almost one year after the death of a young Collin County child.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission says the 20-month-old boy from Murphy was strangled last October when his head and arm became entangled in the net of one of the recalled goals.

Parents should be aware that the key to soccer goal safety is to measure the distance between knots in the net: anything four inches or less would prevent entrapment.

If the distance is five inches or more, it's part of the recall, because it could be deadly to children.

We saw five-year-olds playing Tuesday with safe goals; the mesh on the netting is so small, a toddler's head could not get caught.

"I know I had a net with larger holes, and it broke and we threw it away," said Tiffany Jones, the mother of a young soccer player. "Everybody should know about this, and word should get out that they need to get rid of these nets."

The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Regent Sports Corporatation recalled two types of folding soccer goals: The MacGregor and the Mitre.

The action comes almost one year after the death of 21-month-old Matthew Cantrell, who died after getting entangled in a net at his Murphy home.

"I think it's sad it took them so long to recall them," said youth soccer coach Brandon Jones. "It seems like a lot of soccer was being played between the incident and the time they made the recall."

Plano pediatrician Dr. Charles Dunlap said while accidents involving soccer goals are rare, the Murphy child's death just proves it can happen.

"Some of the accidents we hear about seem very freakish, and 'that could never happen to me' or, 'that could never happen to my child,'" Dr. Dunlap said. "Unfortuantely, we know this is not always true."

The CPSC said the murphy boy's death was one of two cases of entanglement involving children.

"Two too many," Tiffany Jones said, "especially when you're talking about little kids. Two too many."

The nets that are being recalled were sold at Wal-Mart, Ace Hardware and at other sports and toy stores across the nation from May 2002 to May of this year.

Anyone who returns them to Regent Sports will receive a free replacement net.

E-mail sstoler@wfaa.com