In what was meant to be a leisurely day of sports, a California father found himself in an unexpected encounter with park authorities who suspected him of conducting unauthorized tennis lessons.
Sam Dogen, a dad from San Francisco, recounted to News Media how his simple plan of hitting the tennis court with his young daughter, aged six, and son, aged nine, after a Hawaiian vacation quickly took a surprising turn at Golden Gate Heights Park.
“I just wanted to help the kids shake off some jet lag with some outdoor fun and tennis—it’s an activity we’ve enjoyed countless times before,” Dogen explained, reflecting on his intentions for the day.
However, roughly 20 minutes into their game, Dogen recounted that two rangers from the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department approached them, questioning whether he had the necessary permit for teaching tennis.
According to a San Francisco father, his afternoon of playing tennis with his children at Golden Gate Heights Park was abruptly interrupted by park rangers questioning his activities. (Yalonda M. James/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images, File)
“I was immediately thinking to myself, ‘What are you talking about? These are my kids,'” he recalled.
According to Dogen, the confusion ended only after one of his children spoke up.
“He’s my daddy,” his son told the rangers, Dogen said.
The family was never cited, but Dogen said one ranger told him the penalty for teaching without a permit could have been $192.
Sam Dogen speaks with News Media during a video interview about his encounter with San Francisco park rangers. (Brittany Miller/News Media)
Dogen emphasized that the encounter ended with what he described as an educational warning, not a citation. Still, he questioned why the interaction happened at all.
“There was nobody waiting,” he said. “It was just a surprise to me. Why even bother trying to disrupt a perfectly nice afternoon, father with his children?”
The Recreation and Parks Department previously told The San Francisco Standard that rangers routinely check whether people providing instruction on public courts are operating commercially, since paid tennis instruction requires a permit.
“This was a routine interaction,” department spokesperson Tamara Aparton told the outlet. “Because paid instruction is not allowed on public courts without a permit, rangers will sometimes ask questions to determine whether someone is providing commercial instruction or simply using the courts for personal recreation or coaching their kids.”
The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department routinely checks whether people providing instruction on public tennis courts are operating commercially. (Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images, File)
Dogen said he understands why the city regulates commercial instruction but added that he believes parents teaching their own children should be treated differently.
“Raising children in a city as expensive as San Francisco is hard enough,” Dogen told News Media. “When you add law enforcement officers who aren’t friendly, it gets even tougher.”
He said his immediate concern during the interaction was making sure the situation stayed calm with his children standing nearby.
“My only instinct was to de-escalate and keep my 6-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son safe,” Dogen said.
Looking ahead, Dogen joked that he may carry documentation with him the next time he takes his children to the public courts.
A family’s game of tennis came under scrutiny by San Francisco park officials. (David Gray/Getty Images, File)
“I’m going to get their birth certificates and carry them with me in my tennis bag just to prove they’re my children,” he said. “I’m not going to get a permit to teach my children.”
Dogen said he hopes the incident prompts city officials to take a more family-friendly approach to enforcing park rules.
“My hope is that San Francisco becomes a more welcoming place for children and families, not a place where a father teaching his own kids tennis on an empty court gets threatened with a $192 fine,” he said.