A California father says he simply wanted to spend an afternoon playing tennis with his children — but instead found himself being questioned by park rangers who believed he was illegally teaching lessons without a permit.Sam Dogen, a San Francisco father of two, told Fox News Digital he was practicing with his 6-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son at Golden Gate Heights Park after returning from a family trip to Hawaii."I took the kids out for what I thought would be a nice afternoon...to get over the jet lag, be outside in the sun and go play some tennis like we've done many, many times," Dogen said.About 20 minutes into their practice session, Dogen said two San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department rangers approached and asked whether he had a permit to teach tennis.CANNABIS CAFES MAY BECOME TOURIST DRAW IN US CITY AS LUNG EXPERTS CITE 'TOXIC CHEMICAL' CONCERNSA San Francisco dad says he was playing tennis with his kids at Golden Gate Heights Park when he was approached by city park rangers.
(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.MODERATE SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR'S 'POLITICAL MACHINE' INDICATES THE CITY'S SHIFT TO THE CENTER: REPORTSam Dogen speaks with Fox News Digital during a video interview about his encounter with San Francisco park rangers.
(Brittany Miller/Fox News Digital)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 wit...