Civility was in short order during a high school girls basketball bench-clearing brawl in New Jersey involving American History High at John F. Kennedy Recreation Center.
As a result of the melee, in which at least six girls basketball players from the opposing Roselle High team were sent to the hospital, the American History high school girls basketball season has been suspended, NJ Advance Media reported.
The melee erupted at a Feb. 9 game in Newark, N.J., after an American History player responded to a foul by punching a Roselle player, the news service reported. During the melee, fans came out of the stands and attacked Roselle players on the floor, according to the parent of a Roselle player and Larry White, the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association assistant director. White had interviewed an official working the game, which was cancelled in the second quarter as police and an ambulance were called to the scene.
The Roselle High parent, who described the scene as an “all-out fight,” said the injuries to the Roselle players included a concussion, a fractured finger, a leg sprain, body bruises and head trauma.
Newark police are investigating the incident, according to the report.
“We may need to see if there’s some criminal charges that may need to be inflicted,” White told NJ Advance Media. “You get people coming out of the stands, adults beating up on minors. That’s not a good thing.”
In addition to announcing the season suspension for the American History High girls team, Dreena Whitfield, press secretary for Newark Public Schools, said the students involved have been disciplined and the team will remain on probation for the next year, according to the report.
“We are also working with the Newark Police Department on their investigation,” Whitfield said.
