September 8, 2017 - Little Rock, AR -1 Juvenile Shot After Fight Outside NLR High School Football Game, reported by Price McKeon, Arkansas Matters.
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September 7, 2017 - United Kingdom - Head's Gone: Shocking Moment Rugby Player Mark Meafua Hits Referee As He Was About To Be Carded That Saw Him Banned For Ten Years, reported by John Hutchinson, The Sun. A 19-year old junior rugby player loses it when carded and punches an 18-year old ref. The player will pay a steep price for launching his blow against the ref as he has received a ten year ban from rugby.
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September 1, 2017 - Kansas City, MO - The Park Hill School District requires all elementary and middle school students attending its football games to be accompanied by an adult in the aftermath of a number of spectator brawls. See Adult Supervision Required at High School Football Games After Park Hill School District Fight, reported by Ariel Rothfield, KSHB TV, September 8, 2017; and A Fight in The Stands at Park Hill Causes High School Football Game to End Early, reported by Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, September 1, 2017.
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August 14, 2017 - Chicago, IL - United Center Evacuated After Fights During Basketball Championship Game, reported by Liz Nagy, ABC-TV 7. Multiple large brawls break out inside and outside of United Center during summer youth basketball championship game. The crowd was capped at 10,000 for the event, but far more fans came to see the championship of the ironically titled "West Haven Community Safe Summer Basketball League." The brawls featured folks who were being kicked out, folks who couldn't get in, gang bangers, and a bunch of twelve and thirteen year-old kids who appeared to play a major role in the violence. Also see, Organizers: Kids As Young As 12 Behind United Center Basketball Brawl, reported by Stefano Esposito, Chicago Sun-Times, August 16, 2017.
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July 28, 2017 - Las Vegas, NV - LaVar Ball, famous for being the father of NBA player Lonzo Ball, demanded that a female referee who gave him a technical foul be replaced during a summer Adidas basketball tournament. Adidas actually caved in to Ball, leading to the company that supplied the referees refusing to work the tournament in the future. Adidas took negative press for caving in to what appears to be a misogynistic demand. Ball took heat too, as he launched a verbal tirade against the female official not being good enough to work a men's game. See Adidas Apologizes, says Removing Female Ref After LaVar Ball Complaint Was 'Wrong Decision', reported by Scott Gleeson, USA Today, July 31, 2017; and Referee Company Cuts Ties With Adidas After LaVar Ball Has Female Official Removed From Game, reported by Eduardo Gonzalez, Los Angeles Times, July 31, 2017.
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June 21, 2017 - Charlottetown, Canada - P.E.I. Midget AA Player Gets 30 Days In Jail For Punching Referee, Toronto Sun, June 23, 2017. Don't let the "midget" designation fool you. Cole Trevor Crane, the puncher at issue, is 18 years old. Crane hit referee John William MacDougall as MacDougall escorted him off the ice.
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July 10, 2017 - Menifee, CA - Football Fight: Video Shows Menifee Tournament Turns Violent, reported by Leticia Juarez, ABC 7 News (reporting on two teams brawling in a high school summer passing league).
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June 18, 2017 - Panama City, FL - Former Braves Catcher Johnny Estrada Arrested for Shoving Umpire, reported by Alec McQuade, WXIA TV - Atlanta, GA. Estrada allegedly shoved the umpire when he was coaching at a youth tournament in Florida.
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April 24, 2017 - Charlotte, NC - Caught On Video: Parent Storms Bench During Youth Basketball Game, Angrily Confronts Coach, reported by Langston Wertz, Jr.
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April 21, 2017 - Ridgeland, MS - Ridgeland Police Officer Allegedly Attacks A Rival Spectator at Youth Baseball Game. See Warrant Issued For Policeman Involved In Baseball Fight, reported by Sarah Fowler, The Clarion Ledger (Jackson, MS), April 27, 2017.
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April 11, 2017 - Greensburg, PA - Jail Time For Woman Who Threatened Youth Football Officials, Associated Press Report on Fox News.
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March 29, 2017 - Death Threats To Final Four Ref. See Death Threats To A Ref - The Lunatics Are Threatening To Overtake Kentucky's Fan Base, reported by Pat Forde, yahoosports. You might ask yourself whether there was a highly controversial call that led to the death threats. Nope. You might wonder whether there was a massive foul disparity. Nope - the fouls were 19 to 18. This is just another case of classless fans and an official who has to bear the brunt of their wrath.
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March 26, 2017 - Albuquerque, NM - Coaches Brawl At Youth Basketball Tournament. See Albuquerque Youth Coaches Get Into Brawl During Championship Game, reported by Jeannie Nguyen, KRQE Channel 13, March 28, 2017; and Watch: Coaches Brawl At Youth Basketball Championship Game, CBS TV Channel 46 (Atlanta, GA) March 30, 2017.
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March 11, 2017 – Mexico - Mexican Soccer Refs Go On Strike After Repeated Threats From Players, reported by Ryan Rosenblatt of Fox Sports, New York Post, March 11, 2017. This strike caused cancellations in the Mexican Liga MX. The Liga MX took the strike seriously, issued yearlong suspensions of the players who threatened the officials and professional soccer resumed in Mexico. See After Round 10 Was Suspended By a Referee Strike, This Week's Copa MX Matches and The Weekend Games Will Go Ahead as Scheduled, Goal.com, March 13, 2017.
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March 10, 2017 - Hatfield, PA - Police Launch Investigation After School Hockey Game Ends With On-Ice Brawl, reported by Cleve Bryan, CBS Channel 3 (Philadelphia). In this hockey match, four players from the Ridley Township hockey club appear to have targeted Shawn Phillips, a player from the opposing team. Ridley's school superintendent is quoted in the article as saying that the Ridley hockey team is not affiliated with the school.
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March 7, 2017 - Cobb County, GA - Disciplinary process begins after post-match attack at Georgia State High School wrestling championships. See School Considers Discipline Following Incident At Georgia State Wrestling Tournament, Fox 5 Atlanta, GA; and click here for video.
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March 1, 2017 - Indiana/Iowa - High School Students Hurl Chants of "Trump" and "USA" at Hispanic Opponents. See 'Trump' As Anti-Latino Epithet: Ugly Incidents At High School Games, reported by Mayra Cuevas, CNN.Com.
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February 25, 2017 – Binghamton, NY – College Hockey Player Bolts Penalty Box in Wild Attack on Ref, New York Post Wire Report, February 27, 2017. Erie Community College freshman Brandon Day was arrested and charged with assault according to local media reports.
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February 21, 2017 - Missouri - The costliest punch. The Missouri State High School Activities Association, Missouri's high school sports governing body, does not have a state rule addressing players ejected for fighting, leaving it up to individual schools and districts. The schools and districts treat their actions as school discipline and won't discuss it. This has created a disconnect where a legislator wanted information after a basketball fight, and couldn't get it. Missouri State Rep. Keith Cookson, the legislator, has proosed legislation requiring an annual report from the MHSAA. Can this legislation pass? Is it written well enough to get the information that Rep. Cookson wants? Time will tell, but the punch that was thrown in a Van Buren, MO girls' basketball game may be the costliest punch of all from a sheer political perspective as the legislator may not stop with just one Bill, but may begin an ongoing review of Missouri high school sports. We will see. See Apparent Punch At Girls Basketball Game Propels Lawmaker Into Action, reported by Pat Pratt, Southeast Missourian.
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February 20, 2017 - NY - Two Lower Hudson River Valley games marred by misconduct. Parents brawl in a game between Peekskill and Tappan Zee High School while officials eject fans for verbally abusing them in New Rochelle. See Peekskill Basketball Brawl Highlights Problem Fans at Sporting Events, reported by Mike Zacchio, lohud.com.
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February 11, 2017 - Connellsville, PA - Connellsville students celebrate "hick night" with chants of "build that wall" and "send them back" to opposing schools' black players. See Some Parents Upset About Chants From Student Section During Basketball Game, reported by Say Black Players Harassed During Pa. High School Basketball Game, reported by WPXI TV 11.
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February 10, 2017 - Mesa, AZ - Glendale Basketball Player Takes High Road After Racist Taunts During Mesa Game, reported by Diego Mendoza-Moyers, Richard Obert, and Ben Moffat, The Arizona Republic, February 11, 2017.
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February 9, 2017 - Hazel Park, MI - A Michigan high school game turns into utter chaos. The Athletic Director was ejected; a student threw a bottle onto the floor; numerous parents complained to officials; one official is on film running from a group of spectators; and in the midst of it all the chaos we see something we seldom see: a referee pushing a fan. Usually, it's the other way around - and in a pretty big way as officials are constantly attacked, beaten and occasionally even killed by spectators and players. You can see the wild scene for yourself as the whole thing is caught on film. See Hazel Park and North Farmington Basketball Game Descends Into Basket-Brawl, reported by Jim Kiertzner, WXYZ-TV (Detroit), February 10, 2017.
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February 7, 2017 - Silsbee, TX - Texas School Districts Investigating In-Game Basketball Brawl, reported by Jacque Masse, USA Today High School sports, February 9, 2017.
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February 4, 2017 - Amherst, NY - Video: Will East Hockey Player Pushes On-Ice Official, reported by Miguel Rodriguez, The Buffalo News, February 5, 2017.
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January 31, 2017 - Jefferson, NJ - Racially charged chants of "ashy knees" and "build the wall" mar high school basketball game. See 'Build The Wall" Chants Cause Controversy At NJ Basketball Game, reported by Katie Kausch, patch.com.
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January 25, 2017 - Corpus Christi, TX - Rowdy spectator makes major mistake: he attacks police officers trying to calm down crowd at a high school basketball game, and gets thrown in jail. See Fight Erupts At High School Basketball Game, KIII TV.
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January 19, 2017 - Memphis, TN - This College Basketball Brawl Featured Steel Chair Shots and Fans Fighting On The Court, reported by Kristian Winfield, SBNation.com (reporting on a near riot that broke out at a Lane College vs. Lemoyne-Owen college basketball game).
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January 6, 2017 – Houston, TX – Basketball Players and Students Engage In Brawl Sparked By Taunting. See Katy, Tompkins Students Face Discipline After Basketball Brawl Goes Viral, reported by Dana Guthrie and Adam Coleman, Houston Chronicle.
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January 5, 2017 - San Luis, AZ - Brawl Breaks Out During San Luis - Gila Ridge Soccer Game, reported by Alex Cheney, KYMA TV 5, Yuma, AZ.
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January 2, 2017 - Lexington, OH - Parents, Students Brawl After Lexington Basketball Game, reported by Dave Nethers, Fox-TV Channel 8, Cleveland, OH.
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December 18, 2016 - Medford, Oregon - Alleged Punch By Parent Draws Scorn, reported by Dan Jones, Medford Mail Tribune, December 20, 2016. This is a classic fight pattern in this era of overinvolved parents. Two opposing players squared off at an eighth grade basketball game. The officials broke the fight up. Then parents exited the stands, presumably to help stop the two player fight. This, of course, had the effect of creating a small degree of chaos as fans entered the court. One of the fans was a 44 year old parent and that parent allegedly hit one of the players. It is hard to convince some sports parents that they only make it worse when they enter the court .... they're not helping even though they think, they are.
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December 12, 2016 - Warrensburg, MO - Fans at white high school turn backs and raise Trump sign when players from black school are introduced. It's the Trump racism effect coming home to sports. See Trump Sign Waved In Student Section As Predominantly Black Basketball Team Introduced, reported by Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, December 13, 2016. And, yes, this is not an isolated incident. See Schools Report Racist Incidents In Wake of Donald Trump Election, reported by Errin Hayes Whack and Jay Reeves, AP Report in Denver Post, November 11, 2016.
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