UPDATED 2/7, 6:11 p.m. ET: Sources told ABC 7 NY that the coach was attacked after he tried to stop the suspects from bullying another student. He ultimately declined medical attention.
The incident is being investigated as an aggravated assault.
See the original story below.
Several players on the Malcolm X. Shabazz High School junior varsity boys basketball team brutally attacked their coach after a game Tuesday night, NJ Advance Media reports.
The video shows the players pushing the coach to the ground, punching and kicking him outside of the school, which is located in Newark, New Jersey. The players attacked their coach after an away game at Livingston when got they off the bus to return to Shabazz around 9 p.m.
“We support the superintendent and principal and will do what we can to make the rest of the year successful,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who visited the school after the attack, said in a statement to the news outlet. “The actions of these students will not be tolerated. It does not represent the majority of the school. The school and team have great kids. Many of them go on to college and on to do great things.”
Each player involved in the incident was suspended, and could face criminal charges.
"Our detectives are investigating this incident to identify and to appropriately charge those individuals involved," Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose told ABC 7 NY. "Because high school students are typically juveniles, the names of the suspects will not be released. But those found to have participated in this senseless act of violence will face criminal charges."
