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A spectator and referee squared off at a girls travel team game in Indiana setting off a melee that police are investigating
- Updated: April 19, 2021
By Joel Alderman
Roundball Daily covers basketball at all levels when it is newsworthy. Now we feel we should report the unsavory events that took place at a game between girls travel teams in Indiana on April 15th that brought disgrace to its participants and to the sport.
We are in an epidemic of violence in this country, but who would have thought that it would spread to a youth game in the sport’s hotbed state. Unbelievable as it sounds, it started when a spectator body-slammed a referee, setting off a melee.
The first quarter had not ended
The contest was within a tournament between the travel teams known as Indiana Elite and Baylor Basketball (not to be confused with Baylor University). It took place at the Pacers Athletic Center (PAC) in Westfield, a suburb of Indianapolis.
With 0:16 left in the first quarter and Indiana Elite leading 24-12 a technical foul was called on the Baylor Basketball female coach and she started to leave the court followed by her players. It appeared as if the entire team had been ejected from the tournament.
Punches were landed
Meanwhile, a spectator holding a phone went toward an official who knocked the phone out of his hand and slapped his face. Next thing you know a blow-by-blow fight started.
During the altercation one of the young players tried to get in a swing, and the official swung back at the minor.
At that point, other spectators were involved and the person who initiated the melee picked up the referee and slammed him to the floor.
The brawl is all over the internet, and one of the best videos is on YouTube.
A text was posted summing up well the feelings of many adults:
“What an awful example of youth basketball in Indiana. Basketball is a big deal in Indiana and both of our children played. Travel basketball takes lots of time and money to participate. Sadly, some adults set terrible examples of sportsmanship and forget it’s a game.”
