Bad Acts - 2009
Chicago, IL - Dec. 26, 2009 - Big Fight at Rich South After Basketball Game. One Girl, Miracle Jackson, says she had nothing to do with the fight and is the victim of police brutality. Interestingly, that's how the Chicago's NBC TV covered this. That's right, the headline isn't, "Riot at Game." Oh no! The headline is Richton Park Teen Girls Allege Police Brutality by BJ Lutz and Natalie Martinez, NBC Chicago, December 29, 2009.
Amarillo, TX - December 21, 2009 - Angry Player Spits On College Basketball Referee. Why, you ask? Well, he didn't like the calls. Officiating is the only business where someone thinks they're justified in attacking someone if they disagree with them. This is a disgrace and here's hoping that the player who did this is suspended for an extremely long time. See Buffs Impressive in Rout of Lions by Lance Lahnert, Amarillo Globe-News, December 22, 2009
Cincinnati, Ohio - December 15, 2009 - Mob of Students Attack Ohio Officer Who Broke Up Fight, WTVG-TV - Toledo, Ohio Channel 13, December 20, 2009. The worst things about this incident is that these were elementary and middle school kids. The officer broke up a fight and was walking the fighters out of the gym when 30 kids attacked him. Some of these youngsters went so far as to grab for the officer's gun. Also see, Police Officer Hurt In Fight Has Concussion, WKRC 12 - Cincinnati, December 18, 2009.
Omaha, NE - December 4, 2009 - Gunshots Fly at Omaha Basketball Game. See Violence Sparks Increased Tournament Security by Jodi Baker, WOWT, Dec. 4, 2009.
Hawaii Survives "Minor" Post-Game Handshake Incident At State Football Championships. See Postgame Handshakes Can Be Valuable Learning Tool, Honolulu Advertiser Prep Talk Blog, November 10, 2009.
Providence, RI - November 8, 2009 - Players and Fans Brawl In Rhode Island High School Soccer Final. For video, see Fight Breaks Out At Rhode Island Soccer Game, Boston.com, November 9, 2009; and Brawls Break Out At Girls' Soccer Game, Bill Tomison with reporting by Sara Hogan and Patrick Little, WPRI, Providence, Rhode Island, November 9, 2009. As bad as the brawl was, it wasn't the most blatant act of poor sportsmanship in soccer in November, 2009. University of New Mexico soccer player Elizabeth Lambert wins that prize as you can see on video at New Mexico Player Banned, Apologizes, ESPN.com, November 6, 2009.
Orange, NJ - November 6, 2009 - 3 Fights and You're Out. Football Team Banned From Playoffs Due to Cumulative Ejections. See NJ High School Football: West Orange Banned From Postseason Play by Matthew Stanmyre, Newark Star- Ledger, November 9, 2009.
Yuma, AZ - November 5, 2009 - 22 Year-Old Poses as Student So He Can Play High School Basketball. Anthony Avalos, the 22-year old, didn't learn very well his first go-round in high school; he was caught because of numerous misspellings on a forged birth certificate. This could be a somewhat amusing story except Anthony didn't restrict himself to basketball. He allegedly returned to dating high school girls, who are generally under-age, and yes, he had sex with one of the under-age high school girls. So, a potentially amusing forgery and fraud crime now becomes a most-definitely unamusing forgery, fraud and sex crime. Anthony will undoubtedly be going to prison for a very long time, and will surely be a registered sex offender. See Yuma High School Duped By 22-Year-Old Man Posing As Student So He Could Play Basketball by James King, Phoenix New Times, November 6, 2009.
Oakland, CA - November 3, 2009 - Jeremy Brigham, a former NFL player, attacks a parent at a Pee-Wee League football game. This isn't the first time a former athlete went nuts at a youth game. The strange thing with this one is that the athlete's a coach and he attacked a parent. We don't commonly see coaches attacking parents. Click here for more.
Rochester, N.Y. - October 29, 2009 - Adult Rec-League football player charged with first-degree felony assault for hitting an official over the head with his helmet. See Football Attack Stuns Team, Referees, Rochester Democrat Chronicle, October 29, 2009.
Shade Township, PA - October 18, 2009 - Ugly Ending to Pennsylvania Youth Football Game. See Charges Filed After Crowd Confronts Ref After Youth Game by Dan DiPaolo, Somerset Daily American, November 30, 2009.
Los Angeles, CA - October 17, 2009 - 5 Arrested in Brawl At Fairfax High School Football Game, CBS2 Los Angeles, CA.
Carrolton, IL - October 17, 2009 - Woman Charged With Battery For Alleged Referee Attack. Julie Teno of Roodhouse, Il. allegedly charged the field and hit the referee during a youth football game in Carrolton, IL. See Woman Charged For Allegedly Striking Referee by Maggie Borman, The Illinois Telegraph, December 15, 2009
Columbus, Ohio - October 16, 2009 - Ugly post-game fight at Ohio's Northland High led school officials to consider cancelling the remainder of the season. The two schools ultimately decided to do community service. See High School Football: Brawl Might Prompt Northland to Cancel Rest of Season by Steve Blackledge, Columbus Dispatch, October 20, 2009; and Football Players To Perform Community Service After Brawl, Ohio 10TV News, October 20, 2009; and High School Football: Players Must Perform Community Service, Columbus Dispatch, October 21, 2009.
Eaton, CO - October 5, 2009 - This one has it all: parents confronting coaches; coaches fighting; and a youth football team refusing to play because their opponent had a girl (11-year old Mikayla Crespin) on the team. See Football Coach Throws Punch Over Girls' Right To Play by Emily Friedman, ABCNews.com, October 7, 2009; and Flag! Coaches Brawl Over Girl Playing Youth Football by Alan Gathright and Tyler Lopez, Denver Channel, October 6, 2009.
Hickman, KY - October 2, 2009 - Players, Coaches, Fans Take To The Field. Brawl Ends Ky. High School Game, Associated Press Wire Service, Cincinnati Enquirer, October 5, 2009.
Clarksdale, MI - September 26, 2009 - Mississippi Officials Investigate Brawl At Blowout High School Game, Associated Press Wire on al.com, October 1, 2009. This bench clearing brawl among players and some fans from the stands occurred near the end of a 54-0 blowout between Coahoma County High School and Coahoma Agricultural High School.
Boynton Beach, Fl - September 26, 2009 - Little Players, Big Fight. 30 Spectators Duke It Out in Parking Lot At Halftime of Youth Football Game. See Boynton Beach Police Arrest 8 After PAL Fight, Palm Beach Post, September 28, 2009.
Massillon, Ohio - September 22, 2009 - Nutty Fan Gets Arrested, Turns Out to Be An Off-Duty Police Officer. See Police Officer Arrested At High School Football Game, wtov9, Steuvenville, Ohio.
Lisbon, Ohio - September 22, 2009 - Football Fan Arrested at Lisbon Game, East Liverpool Review, September 22, 2009.
Farmington, N.Y. - September 18, 2009 - Man Arrested For Menacing After Brandishing A Handgun On A Golf Course, WHEC.com.
Delray Beach, FL - September 17, 2009 - A tough football season gets tougher with a fight that spilled from the stands into the parking lot in Florida. See Pepper Spray, Stun Gun used To Stop Brawl at Delray Beach Football Game by Jerome Burdi, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, September 18, 2009.
Tulsa, OK - September 10, 2009 - 3 Arrests, 9 Injured at Tulsa HS Football Game! Gang tensions lead to fights at Booker T. Washington High School football game in Tulsa. Police use pepper spray to break it up. See Fights Break Out At Booker T. Washington Football Game, Tulsa World, September 11, 2009; and Brawl Ends High School Football Game, KOCO Channel 5, Oklahoma City.
Chicago, IL - September 6, 2009 - Chicago coach shot because he removed player from game. Sad but true: A player in a league designed to keep troubled youth off the streets, kind of missed the point of the league, got mad at his coach and tried to kill him. The player shot his coach twice, but, fortunately, ran out of bullets before he could finish the coach off. See Baseball Coach Shot At Abbott Park in Roseland, WGN, September 6, 2009; Teen Baseball Player Shoots Coach After Argument by Jeremy Gorner and Will Lee, Chicago Tribune, September 7, 2009.
Chicago, IL - September 4, 2009 - The 2008-09 academic year was a particularly violent year for Chicago sports teams so the last thing they needed was a major brawl to start off the 2009-10 academic year. Unfortunately, that's exactly what they got. North Chicago High School and Simeon started the year with a brawl sufficiently bad to lead officials to call the game in the first quarter. See Fight Ends North Chicago-Simeon Game by Tina Sfondeles, Chicago Sun Times's Yourseason.com, September 4, 2009; and Fight Breaks Out, Prep Football Game Canceled, WGN, September 5, 2009.
St. George, UT - September 3, 2009 - An old-fashioned fight. Utah teams brawl but they brawled the old-fashioned way, just the guys on the field. No crazed parents, no gangs, no fans, just players. Poor sportsmanship, yes! However, this year's been so violent that it's almost refreshing to see an old-fashioned act of poor sportsmanship. See High School Football: Cottonwood Shuts Out Pine View In Fight-Marred Game by Andy Griffin, Salt Lake City Deseret News, September 4, 2009.
Pittsburgh, PA - August 25, 2009 - Good clean fun, hazing, thuggery? We just don't know. What we do know is 5 football players decided that it was a good idea to shoot bb guns at their teammates during a break in practice. They're off the team and facing expulsion. Zero tolerance? The heck with that. Demarrio Patterson, one of the players on the team, put it all in perspective - at least from a youth perspective - telling news reporters, "It was an air soft bb gun ... that stings for 20 seconds and goes away." Yeah, tell 'em Demarrio. Toughen up. Who are we adults to complain about bb guns and coaches who punch their athletes and fights and guns at games. Suck it up and get tough. For more, see 5 H.S. Players Accused In Pellet Gun Shooting Kicked Off Team, WPXI, Pittsburgh, PA, August 25, 2009; and HS Students Face Punishment In Pellet Gun Fight, KDKA Channel 2, Pittsburgh, PA, August 26, 2009..
Oxnard, CA - August 22, 2009 - One of the bad things about having relatives at games is their attempts to help generally make things worse. In Oxnard, CA, a 20 year old spectator charged the field and attacked a 13 year old kid. The poor kid never had a chance. The attacker was a grown man and the attacker hit the kid from the blindside. The kid's in the hospital with a possibly broken nose right now. The logic behind this crazy act: the man's brother was playing in the game, and at the end of the game a fight broke out between members of the two teams. Remember, fans belong in the stands - even if their relatives are in a fight. See Man Arrested For Punching Player After Soccer Game, Ventura County Star, August 22, 2009; and Man Accused of Punching 13-year-old During Youth Soccer Game, L.A. Times, August 23, 2009.
Douglas County, GA - August 14, 2009 - A gang fight results in a stabbing at a high school football scrimmage. The unfortunate reality of our youth sports world is the extraordinary amount of poor sportsmanship and even violence that mar what should be joyful experiences. The poor economy may bring out some even uglier incidents this year as people will be on edge and have idle time on their hands. This early season incident could be a harbinger of very ugly things to come. See High School football Brawl, Stabbing Result in 7 Arrests by Alexis Stevens, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, August 15, 2009.
Victor, N.Y. - July 16, 2009 - Youth Baseball Coach Goes Ballistic, Shoves Player. We've seen so many bad things from coaches in the last few years, that this almost doesn't register. However, anytime a 48 year-old grown man physically attacks a kid you have to wonder what's going on. This coach just lost it, screaming profanities and shoving a 13 year old boy at a baseball practice. Coaches have really gotten a bad name after the Chicago incidents a year ago, where coaches paddled kids. Those acts were intentional, thought-out attempts to motivate. They were certainly ill-advised, and not appropriate but there once was a time where people used corporal punishment. There was never a time when anybody advocated a coach simply losing it and attacking a kid. The Chicagoans were out of tune with modern standards of decency and child care. This coach is worse. He just shouldn't be around kids. See Baseball Coach Accused of Shoving Player, WHEC News 10, Rochester, N.Y.
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Memphis, TN - July 8, 2009 - Gang Related Problems Put Everybody on Edge. A Coach in Memphis tried to do the right thing by telling a player to remove a gang related shirt. The kid refused. Think the coach was unreasonable? Think again. The kid, who was denying that his shirt was gang-related, tried to dissuade his coach of that notion by pulling a gun on him. See Football Player Arrested For Pulling Gun on Coach, WREG Channel 3, Memphis.
Rancho Murieta, CA - July 7, 2009 - Out of Control Parents Launch Post-Game Fisticuffs. See Fight at Little League Game Brings Deputies To Stonehouse Park, RanchoMurieta.com, July 8, 2009.
Colorado Springs, CO - June 29, 2009 - Girls Softball Game Ends In Parking Lot Brawl, KKTV. This summer league high school softball game was called after an in-game fight. The fight then resumed in the parking lot after the game, ultimately involving 30 people. 4 people got arrested after this ugly incident, and some of those people swung bats. This one was ugly and dangerous.
Westfield, N.J. - June 25, 2009 - Post-Game Headbutt Mars New Jersey Little League Game. See Little League Rage: N.J. Game Ends With Headbutt - Substitute Coach Allegedly Attacks Other Coach After Teams Shake Hands; Parents Furious, CBS 11, New Jersey, June 30, 2009; See Violence Flares At Little League Game, Police Called, New Jersey.com, June 26, 2009..
Kingston, Ontario - June 23, 2009 - Kyle Pike, a 19-year old baseball player, allegedly punches out a 16-year old youth umpire. See Kingston Thunder Suspend Player Indefinitely After Attack on Umpire by Mike Koreen, Kingston Whig Standard, June, 2009; Cops Called To Baseball Brawl, K-Town Sports Report, Kingston, July 1, 2009.
West St. Paul, MN - June 17, 2009 - Former WSP Councilor Disrupts Little League Game by Seth Loy, West St. Paul Southwest Review News, August 10, 2009. This wasn't the worst of incidents as it only involved verbal abuse that did not degenerate into anything more. However, the incident is noteworthy in that Greg Shepherd, a prominent local official, was involved. When you're a public figure, you may want to control yourself at youth sports contest. Interestingly enough, a number of prominent figures have had blow ups at youth league sports contests over the year.
Albany, N.Y. June 16, 2009 - Post-Game Handshake Incident Leads to Legal Charges: But was the wrong person charged? Corey Hall was allegedly punched in the handshake line. He reacted to the punch by pushing the alleged perpetrator and kicking a helmet in frustration. The alleged perpetrator was expelled from his youth baseball league. After the alleged perpetrator was punished, his father, a police officer, filed charges against Corey on the grounds that Corey damaged property by kicking the helmet and committed a battery by pushing the kid who punched him. The lethal combination of a post-game handshake line and a parent who can't accept his son's punishment will tie up the judicial system for a little while. See Score Deputy's Move An Error For Justice by Mark MgGuire, Albany Times-Union, June 23, 2009.
West Burlington, Iowa - June 11, 2009 - Iowa High School Umpire Don Briggs ejected all the spectators (estimated to be 100 people in all) for unruly conduct. He later changed his mind and allowed the spectators back as long as there were no more negative comments. Was Briggs right? Well, we'll never know. The spectators and coaches all contend that they didn't fight and they weren't profane. That's a pretty low standard - imagine another public forum where you can deem yourself to be a gracious individual by merely not fighting and not using profanity. However, charges of overall negativity are hard to prove - especially when one accuses everyone of being negative. See High School Umpire Tells Entire Crowd: You're Out by Bryce Miller, Des Moines Register, June 13, 2009.
Antioch, IL - May 18, 2009 - Cops: Parent Takes Swing At Baseball Coach by Ruth Fuller, ChicagoBreakingnews.com, May 18, 2009; and Dad Bops Boys' Baseball Coach by Peggy Cassidy, NBC News.com Chicago, May 19, 2009..
Palm Beach, FL - May 15, 2009 - Ugly Fight/10 Ejections Mars Florida Baseball Game - School Gets Injunction, Temporarily Lifting State Suspensions. State Will Continue To Pursue This Matter. See Baseball: Trinity Christian and Miami-Brito Private Series Ends With Split, 10 Ejections After Fight by Bill Van Smith, Palm Beach Post, May 16, 2009; and Trinity Christian Wins Injunction, Loses Game by Dave George, Palm Beach Post, May 21, 2009. Note: We've seen this pattern before. A school doesn't like a penalty so it runs to court for an injunction. The school will often succeed in getting the injunction because the injunction doesn't decide the case it's just a ruling that says that harm might be done if the penalty is enforced before the case is decided. The school can easily point out that it won't get to play a game that can't be made up; thus, the school will get an injunction. The problem with the injunction is that it makes somewhat of a joke out of the penalty. The school seldom wins the case if the governing body that penalizes it continues to fight in court for a ruling. Schools know this. They just don't want to lose the big game. Some high school governing bodies now have harsh rules that include fines, forfeits and suspensions if a school asks for an injunction and then loses the case later on. There are times for an injunction, but let's face it, Trinity and Brito had a bench clearing brawl. The only reason for the injunction is because these two schools lack the integrity to take the penalty for fighting. Stacy Hicklin from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel gets it in her article, Filing Injunctions Does Not Send Right Message To Student-Athletes.
Bartlesville, OK - May 9, 2009 - Coach's Wife Charged In Alleged Attack on Umpires by Laura Summers, Tulsa World, May 22, 2009. A JC coach's wife allegedly entered the umpires' locker room and grabbed one of the umpires by the throat after her husband's team lost a playoff game.
Kirkland, WA - May 2, 2009 - Mom allegedly attacks 12-year-old Little League player - and the League lacks the guts to suspend her.. See Mom Arrested After Little League Game Goes Foul by Carrie Wood, Kirkland Reporter, May 8, 2009; Click here for interview with the victim's mother; It gets worse: the Kirkland Little League didn't suspend the mom. See Parents Outraged as Little League Feud Continues by Carrie Wood, Kirkland Reporter, June 2, 2009 (note: this article also shows the weakness of newspaper headlines - the story isn't about a feud; it's about a league that lacked either the guts or good sense to suspend an unsportsmanlike parent).
China - April 24, 2009 - Chinese School Admits Age Fraud In Soccer Tourney, Examiner.com, April 24, 2009.
Greene County, IN - April 24, 2009 - "Big Fight" Reported Between Area Schools: WRV and Union Officials Looking Into the Incident by Anna Rochelle, Greene County Daily World, April 24, 2009.
Northampton, MA - April 22, 2009 - As Lacrosse Grows, We'll Start Seeing More Brawls. It's Just a Matter of Time as Massachusetts Has Discovered. See Fists Fly at Local Lacrosse Game reported by Liz Tufts, CBS 3 Springfield, MA, April 23, 2009; Northampton, West Springfield Officials Continue To Investigate April 22 Fight Between High School Lacrosse Teams by Angela Carbone, The Republican, April 29, 2009.
Elizabethton, TN - April 21, 2009 - Soccer Brawl Leaves Unanswered Questions by Douglas Fritz, Johnson City Press, April 23, ,2009. Click here for Kingsport Times-News report.
Alberta, Canada - April 18, 2009 - Junior Hockey Player Gets 13 Month Suspension For Attacking Referee. See Hockey Alberta Hits Grossman Hard For Abuse of Official At Doyle Cup by Pete Lucarotti, Grande Prairie, Alberta Daily Herald Tribune, May 2009; and Junior Hockey Player Attacks Referee by Sarah Miller, Canada National Post, April 22, 2009.
Eugene, OR - April 11, 2009 - Oregon Ultimate Frisbee Team Shut Down For Playing Nude Game, Speeding on The Way To A Contest, and Serving Alcohol To Underage Students. This probably isn't poor sportsmanship, but it's incredibly stupid, boorish behavior. Worse, some ultimate frisbee players defend this as being a common part of their "sport." See Club Frisbee Team To Appeal Decision To Cancel Season by Andrew Greif, University of Oregon Daily Emerald, April 27, 2009; and The Ducks' New Party Chant: Frisbee! Frisbee! by Dwight Perry, Seattle Times, May 1, 2009.
Samoa - April 2, 2009 - The principal of St. Joseph's College High School took a stand and shut his school's sports program down due to violence. See Samoan College Pulls Out of Inter-School Sports Because of Violence, Radio Australia (Interview With St. Joseph's College Principal, Brother Stephen Filipo), April 2, 2009. Click here for The Samoa News's Reaction to the Wave of Violence. This wave of violence is nothing new in Samoa. In 2008, interscholastic sports in Samoa were shut down in the wake of violent spectator brawls. In one attack, spectators threw Molotov Cocktails and attacked their rivals with metal bars. See Samoan Government Bans School Sports After Violence, Actualdot.com, May 6, 2008. There have also been rock throwing incidents. See More Violence Disrupts American Samoa High School Sports, Radio New Zealand, February 21, 2008. The government reinstated high school sports for 2009, but it's still violent.
Kansas City, MO - March 24, 2009 - We’ve seen lots of violence in sports, but violence at a track meet is rare. Unfortunately, schools are not generally prepared for acts that don’t occur often. When four Kansas City schools brawled at a track meet, nobody was ready and the brawl quickly got out of hand. See Dozens Involved In Brawl At Ruskin High Track Meet, Kansas City Star, March 24, 2009.
Pasco Cty, FL - March 16, 2009 - Pasco Teacher Fired For False Accusation Against Football Player by Ronnie Blair, Tampa Tribune, March 16, 2009. The teacher falsely accused an athlete of assaulting him on a school bus, not realizing that the bus had a videotape system.
Kenya - March 14, 2009 - Kenyan youth soccer fans literally "killed the ref." That's right. Fans in Kenya killed the ref in a youth match sponsored by a "Christian" league. Youth sport spectators are violent all over the world. Click here for details from KenyaTV. and for newspaper coverage see Referee Killed On Duty by Gilbert Wandera, Nairobi (Kenya) Standard, March 18, 2009.
St. Paul, MN - March 9, 2009 - 20 St. Paul Officers Break Up Melee At Basketball Game; 1 Arrested by Anthony Lonetree, Star Tribune, March 9, 2009.
Berkeley, CA - February 28, 2009 - Basketball Team Suspended for Trashing Opposing Coach's Office After Tough Loss. See Berkeley Receives 2-Year Ban From Postseason by Will McCulloch, San Francisco Chronicle, page D-8, May 16, 2009.
Colorado Springs, CO - February 21, 2009 - Ref Attacked at YMCA Basketball Game. See Police Say Parent Attacked Referee, ABC News Channel 7; and Police: Parent Attacked Ref at Cheyenne Mountain Game by Andrea Brown, Colorado Springs Gazette, February 2,1, 2009.
Montgomery, AL - February 17, 2009 - Riot At Alabama High School Basketball Game - Players Brawl, Fans Rush Court and Fight Each Other In Stands, Multiple Arrests. This was a complete loss of control that displayed the worst in sports. See 'Bama High Schools Booted After Basketbrawl, MSNBC, Feb. 19, 2009; Carver & Valley Basketball Teams Meet Again, WSFA 12 Montgomery, February 19, 2009; and High School Basketball: Carver, Valley Out of Playoffs by A. Stacy Long, Montgomery Advertiser, Feb. 19, 2009.
Denver, CO - February 11, 2009 - Racial Taunts Heard At High School Basketball Game, Associated Press Wire Service, Rocky Mountain News, February 15, 2009. And what racial taunts they were. The fans in this game didn't use the "N" word. Instead, they broke out some classics like "Buckwheat" and "Shrimp Boat."
Sanger, CA - February 10, 2009 - Player Skirmish Mars Soccer Match. See Soccer Brawl Probe Is Ongoing by Margaret Slaby, The Fresno Bee, February 11, 2009; It's So On! High School Girls Game Turns Into Brawl, unprofessionalfoul.com; One player was taken away in an ambulance, leading to a police investigation. Ultimately, charges were not filed. See Sanger Police Don't Press Charges In Soccer Brawl, Fresno Bee, February 20, 2009.
Watertown, MA - February 2, 2009 - Now Here's An Unusual One! Scorekeepers Fight at Watertown-Lexington High School Boys Basketball Game by Sean Jacquet, Waltham (MA) Daily News, Feb. 3, 2009.
Washington Township, IN - February 2, 2009 - Stupid Fan Attacks The Wrong Ref! See Fan Attacks Ref Who Is Also A State Trooper by Ken Kosky, Northwest Indiana Times, February 2, 2009; and Ref Doubles As Cop, Arrests Rowdy Fan by Reid Cherner and Tom Weir, USA Today.Com Game On Blog, February 3, 2009.
Seattle, WA - January 31, 2009 - Basketball Player Suspended For Season For Pushing Official - But The Player Was Defending His Father Who Was Involved In An Altercation With the Official. In this strange and ugly incident, a parent verbally abused the official throughout a basketball game. At some point, the parent picked up an out of bounds ball and threw it onto the court, hitting the official. The official thought he was hit on purpose so he confronted the parent. In the ensuing altercation, the parent, who uses a walker, was knocked to the ground. The player then ran to his father's defense, pushing the official to the ground. All in all, a pretty ugly scene. See Incident at Basketball Game Under Scrutiny by Tom Wyrwich, The Seattle Times, February 3, 2009.
Houston, TX - January 28, 2009 - "Sammy the Owl" Ejected For Headbutting Ref. Yes, the mascot did it. As mascots are in some rather awkward uniforms, this was not one of the more injurious of acts but still, it is true that the mascot headbutted a ref. See Sims' Coast-to-Coast Buzzer Beater Caps Furious Second Half Comeback at Rice, 61-59, NOLA.com, January 29, 2009; Rice's Owl Mascot Ejected - Yes, Ejected - by Referee by Eamonn Brennan, yahoo.com, January 29, 2009.
Chicago, IL - January 20, 2009 - 2 Cited After Fight, Wounding of Player by Lauren R. Harrison, Bob Sakamoto and Pat Curry, Chicago Tribune, January 21, 2009. When It Rains, It Pours: Less than 2 weeks after 5 people were shot at a Dunbar High School game, Chicago has another shooting. See also, 2 Charged In Shooting After School's Basketball Game, MyFoxChicago, January 21, 2009. Calvin Davis, the Chicago Public League Athletic Commissioner, didn't sit idly by in the wake of the violence at Chicago basketball games. Davis cancelled night games, barred visiting fans, and in rivalry games with a history of problems he barred all fans. See Visiting Fans Barred From High School Games by Bob Sakamoto and Carlos Sadovi, Chicago Breaking News.com, January 23, 2009. For a reaction to the ban, see High School Sports and Violence In Chicago by Teganx7, Jan. 23, 2009 on the wordpress.com blog.
Lansing, MI - January 15, 2009 - Spectator Fight Leads To Police Pepper Spray and Game Suspension. See Fight Disrupts High School Basketball Game, WILX TV (Lansing, MI), January 16, 2009.
Vallejo, CA - January 15, 2009 - Basketball Player "Beaten Nearly To Death" By Gang At Practice. See Teen Badly Hurt In Videotaped Beating At School Slowly Recovering by Demian Bulwa, San Francisco Chronicle, January 19, 2009 page B1.
Los Angeles, CA - January 14, 2009 - Players, Fans fight at Crenshaw-Fremont Basketball Game by Eric Sondheimer, LA Times, January 16, 2009. This ugly incident started with an on-court fight between players. Ultimately, the police had to use pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
Fulton, KY - January 12, 2009 - 50 People Spark Basketbrawl One Minute Into High School Game. See 3 Arrested After Western Kentucky Basketball Game Fight by Malcolm Knox, Kentucky.com, January 12, 2009; and 3 Now Arrested In Crowd Incident At Ball Game, Fort Mill (South Carolina) Times, January 12, 2009.
Hoboken, NJ - January 9, 2009 - Hoboken Game Stopped By Fight, Jersey Journal, Jan. 10, 2009; Hoboken High School Game Called When Fight Erupts, NJ.com, January 10, 2009.
Chicago, IL - January 9, 2009. 5 Shot After Chicago High School Game. It’s the biggest fear of anybody who runs an urban athletic program, and it just happened in Chicago. A group of gang-bangers with no affiliation with the school or program decide to bring their foolishness into your gym. See No Arrests In High School Shooting, NBC Chicago, Jan. 9, 2009; Five Shot Outside Dunbar High After Basketball Game, Chicago1st.com, Jan. 10, 2009; 5 Injured in Shooting at Dunbar High by Art Golab, Chicago Sun Times, Jan. 10, 2009; 5 Hurt by Gunfire Outside Chicago High School After Basketball Game by Ruba Shenoy, Associated Press Wire in San Francisco Chronicle, January 10, 2009 page A6.
New Castle, Del. - January 8, 2009 - Arrests Made In Delaware High School Fight by Dann Cuellar, ABC 6 Action News (Philadelphia, PA), January 9, 2009. Fight over boyfriend leads to shooting at William Penn HS Basketball Game.
Cincinnati, OH - January 3, 2009 - New Year Gets Off To A Fighting Start In Cincinnati. See Basketball Game Halted By Brawl by Tom Groeschen, Cincinnati Enquirer, January 6, 2009.
Brownsville, TX - January 2, 2009 - Players and Fans Storm Court in Texas Basketball Game. See Basketball Players May Be Suspended After Brawl Friday Night by Mike Gonzalez, Mid-Valley Town Crier On-Line (South Texas), January 5, 2009; and Brawl Breaks out At High School Basketball Game by Mark Nino, KVEO 23 Texas, January 3, 2009.