Wild melee breaks out at an Ohio girls basketball game
You stay classy, Ohio.
As far as fights at prep basketball games go -- and they seem to be going quite a bit -- this one may take the cake. It's got all the elements of a good ol' fashioned melee: a 6-year-old mocking high school students, students firing back at the child, parents tattling on students, parents fighting parents and, of course, coaches fighting parents.
While no public video captured the incident at a girls basketball game between Ohio rivals Strongsville High and host Elyria High, details have emerged from multiple media outlets that create a timeline of the bizarre string of events.
Here is the timeline, according to Lt. Elyria Police Lt. William Pelko's report obtained by Cleveland.com, The Morning Journal and Elyria's own Chronicle-Telegram.
During the game, a 6-year-old child from Strongsville allegedly used "a derogatory word" toward a group of Elyria High students.
That group of high school students allegedly made obscene gestures to the child.
The 6-year-old's mother reported these gestures to a policeman in attendance.
After the game, a group of Elyria students and one of their mothers approached the mother of the 6-year-old child from Strongsville.
An Elyria student had to be restrained.
A female Strongsville assistant coach approached the fracas.
Words were exchanged between the mother of an Elyria student and the Strongsville assistant coach.
The Strongsville assistant coach pushed the Elyria mother.
The Elyria mother punched the Strongsville assistant, bloodying her nose.
Oh, and the icing on the cake, courtesy of a Chronicle-Telegram witness: "One or two Strongsville players wore cosmetics, and those players were referred to derisively (by Elyria parents) during the game as 'Miss Maybelline' and 'Cover Girl.'"
Bad times all around. More punches may have been thrown, but the Strongsville assistant coach's husband has threatened to press charges against the mother of the Elyria parent,The Chronicle-Telegram also reported. Police have identified all but two of the students, parents and coaches involved, and charges will be filed after the investigation. Meanwhile, the school districts plan to ban all guilty parties for the rest of the season.
While nobody truly won on this day, Strongsville defeated Elyria 44-36 in the girls basketball game that brought all these shining examples of humanity together. But give credit to the players, because none appear to have been involved.
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