A basketball game in Pittsburgh between Monessen High School and Clairton High School came to an abrupt end on Tuesday when players from both teams got into a fight, sparking an all-out brawl involving an estimated 60 people. Video footage, which you can watch up top, shows two players at the 5:21 mark throwing punches at one another, which quickly led to things getting way out of hand.
It's not long after the first few punches were thrown that people in the stands stormed the court. The officers in attendance requested backup while local firefighters responded to help ventilate the school after pepper spray was used to control the crowd.
People were getting sucker-punched. I saw guys just getting picked off," Eric Fusco, former Clairton football assistant coach told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of the incident. "The game was chippy from the start, but I didn’t think this was going to happen. People have said they should ban both teams from the playoffs. I don't think that’s going to solve anything. I think the fans are way more guilty than the players. You can’t hold players responsible for what fans do."
The game was called off with 4:24 remaining in the fourth quarter. Monessen was leading, 54-45. The Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) will hold a hearing with coaches and administrators from both schools on Monday to determine what penalties will be handed down. Clairton police is also investigating the incident.
