Schools Get Suspensions Following Brawl At Basketball Game
Updated 6:30 p.m. on 3/12/2015
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The handshake line at the end of a boys' basketball playoff game erupted into an all-out brawl Wednesday night, with fans rushing the court to join a fight between the two teams.
There was a cost for the melee. The boys basketball teams at North Lawndale College Prep and Marshall Metro High School will each have to serve a three-game suspension, it was announced Thursday. North Lawndale will have to forfeit a sectional title game against St. Joseph, while Marshall's suspension will begin next season.
By all accounts, it had been a physical game between two intense rivals Wednesday night, as North Lawndale beat Marshall in the 3A sectional playoff at Westinghouse College Prep High School. When the two teams lined up to shake hands, they began exchanging heated words, and soon players were throwing punches.
The teams' fans soon joined the brawl.
Witnesses said it started when a player was punched in the face while standing in the handshake line, and the stands quickly emptied.
Some said there was not enough security on hand for a playoff game between the two rivals. CSN Chicago reported the two teams were nearly involved in a scuffle earlier in the season, but security was able to prevent it from escalating.
Several players from North Lawndale were injured in the fight on Wednesday, and at least one was hospitalized.
Marshall's season was over after their loss, but North Lawndale now must face St. Joseph High School in the Class 3A Westinghouse Sectional final Friday night with three of their players suffering injuries from the brawl.
Chicago police responded to the fight, and took a girl into custody, but later released her to the custody of her parents.