WINDSOR, Colo. (KDVR) — Emotions always run high in high school sports. However, what happened last Sunday during the championship game of the Power2Play Sports girls basketball tournament is nothing to cheer about.
“It went from zero to 60 in literally a minute,” explained Michael Peterson, the founder and president of the organization.
Several parents became upset with the officiating during the game and started screaming obscenities at referees.
Things then escalated.
Seconds after the game ended, a parent from the losing team, 719 Tribe, made a beeline for the parent of an opposing player, and began throwing punches.
“She got right up in the mom’s face and said ‘throw a punch at me. Throw a punch,’ explained Deby Forry, who was watching her daughter play.
Forry’s husband recorded the incident on his cell phone.
The teenage daughter of the mother can also be seen on camera joining in the fight and throwing punches.
“We were all in shock. It was crazy,” said Forry.
Forry said the daughter of the mom who was confronted was injured during the melee.
“They ended up breaking her nose and she had a concussion. She was just covered in blood,” she said.
Michael Peterson said he was also shocked to see what unfolded, but always knew it was likely just a matter of time for something like this to happen after watching other similar incidents across the country.
“In 31 years I’ve never seen anything like that in any of the events I’ve run,” he said.
Peterson not only banned that mother from the league, he also banned the entire 719 Tribe team from Colorado Springs.
“The parents fueled it. The parents created the drama,” he said.
According to the Power2Play website, spectator guidelines address conduct violations:
“P2P Sports has now launched a Sportsmanship Accountability Coalition. Local, regional and national tournament and league operators are combining to report spectator, coach, and player conduct violations resulting in physical harm and/or verbal abuse. This group of Event Directors will report to each other as violations occur, sharing the information, details of the violation and the specific names of those violating the policies of safety and respect.
Collectively, this group of Event Directors will work to create accountability, and improve the safety of all attending youth sporting events. This may include suspension and or temporary/permanent ban from participating in events affiliated with all Event Directors combined in this effort.
The time is now to help improve the safety of participants, and hold all of us accountable to the next level of sportsmanship.”
Windsor Police are investigating the brawl, but so far no charges have been filed.
“Charges have to be filed to set an example. We’re not going to tolerate this,” Peterson said.