Basketball riot in Montgomery, AL

MONTGOMERY, AL (WSFA) - The Executive Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Association stopped at the WSFA 12 News studios late Tuesday night to get a look at the full length video that has tarnished the game of basketball and good sportsmanship in Alabama.

"Well, I'm not going to overreact," said AHSAA's Steve Savarese. " We're going to look at all the facts and look at the video, and we'll assess the situation and make some decisions."

WSFA 12 Sports reporter Derek Steyer was covering the AHSAA sponsored Central Region Basketball Tournament, which is being hosted by Alabama State University, when a fight broke out on the court between players from G.W. Carver High School and Valley High School.

Carver High School was winning the game 52-37 but tensions ran high in the fourth quarter. Around 3:45pm the foul that apparently started the mess was called. Several players began pushing each other, and the scuffle quickly escalated to an all-out melee when fans rushed out of the stands and onto the court.

One unidentified player wearing Valley's orange shorts, could be seen rushing down the court, shirtless, throwing punches at others. Many other players and fans were on the ground being kicked and punched as police officers tried to regain control of the Acadome.

Savarese tells WSFA 12 News "...from what I've seen in just the short clips, I'm very disappointed for student athletes of our state, because, uh, very disappointed [for] what we taugh 'em today."

Neither of the head coaches from Valley or Carver are commenting, though they were seen hugging after the brawl was over.

Gary Hall, principal at Carver High School spoke with WSFA 12 News afterwards. "It sends a bad message to our little kids, " Hall said of the event. "My son was in that situation and he's asking me 'Daddy what's going on?'" Carver's top educator said folks could rest assured he would "get to the bottom of it." He says he also apologizes to ASU for the situation.

Meanwhile, no response from officials at Valley High School.

Montgomery Public Schools spokesman Tom Salter said an investigation is underway and the school system will release a statement, possibly Wednesday.

Kenneth Mullinax, Director of University Relations for Alabama State University, said "...no one was hurt. We had some over enthusiastic high school fans who got involved in an altercation..."

He said eleven juveniles were "detained" after the incident and were taken to the Montgomery Juvenile Detention facility. They have not been charged with any crimes at this time.

A short time after the ruckus was over, the tournament started with a new game, something Mullinax says will continue through Saturday as planned.

As for security, Mullinax told WSFA 12 Sports reporter Derek Steyer there were plenty of officers on hand, though video showed officers struggling to regain control of the spiraling situation.

Alabama State University is hosting the Alabama High School Athletic Association Central Region Basketball Tournament for the third consecutive year. 48 area high schools are competing for a spot in the state finals to be held in Birmingham. Mullinax insisted the event was safe and family friendly, and urged people to come out and enjoy the games.

As for the outcome of the Carver-Valley game, officials called the game in favor of Carver as there were not enough eligible Valley players to continue. However, the AHSAA is planning to look at video to determine if Carver will remain in the running for the championship. If there are any suspensions Carver may have to forfeit the game and the possibility of a championship.

"Hopefully, we can learn something from this..." Savarse said.

Stay with WSFA 12 News as we gather more information on this developing story.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• AHSAA
• basketball
• sport
• Alabama

[elleshat]

this video is so old! we got a new school and everything and our basketball team are doing positive things! what school in Montgomery, AL do any of you know that has a basketball team that goes across the country playing good, clean, fun basketball and wins!? CARVER IS THE BEST! ONCE A WOLVERINE ALWAYS A WOLVERINE!!

[artemisgaia00]

omg i lived in montgomery alabama

[1017BRICKSQUADBJB]

And people thought Alabama was notin but country people

[m5rule]

They are like chimps!!!

[Xplayers1112]

@wmfnly1963 im from New york...its a lil racist up here but no where near as bad Alabama or mississippi or georgia. A couple months ago I was in georgia and it was the most racist shit ive ever seen. It was the first I ever saw a town that was ALL black....up here the blacks have a little mix in it, but in Savannah, shit was weird as hell, However da girls looked good tho lol

[TALONXXX345]

Dem TRAYZ

[TALONXXX345]

FUCK EVERYTHANg

[swaggafire21]

@Offspring1337 fuck u

[wmfnly1963]

@Xplayers1112 of course everyone is racist. What planet are you from?

[Darkanglelorde]

@raptors29 lol I know :D friends from carver told me