A brawl involving 40 people at a Nashville water park over the weekend was allegedly sparked by racial slurs exchanged between two families.
What was supposed to be a fun day at the Wave Country-Wave Pool turned violent after a Black family says white men hurled racial slurs at them and beat them up.
“They tried to gang me so I just started trying to defend myself,” Tyrone Holt, who was involved in Saturday’s melee, told Nashville’s FOX 17. “Next thing I knew, I was on the ground kicked and punched.”
The all-out brawl left Holt with a broken hand and eye socket, the latter injury so severe that doctors had to implant a metal plate in his face Monday.
“I wasn’t scared. I was just in pain,” Holt added.
Metro Police managed to break up the fight but issued no charges because they said it was impossible to determine who slurred who first. Both families agree the dispute began when a man from the white family bumped into the floaties of three Black girls. That’s when the girls accused the man of shouting slurs at them and alerted their parents.
The white family involved said that’s not how it happened, however, claiming they were the ones who were racially insulted first.
“They had their kids throwing stuff at us calling us white trash this and that and all kind of craziness,” Jonathan Sellers told the station.
Still, Amanda Holt insisted it was the other way around.
“With us approaching them, that’s when all the aggression from them started and that’s when we were called the ‘N’ word,” she said.
Authorities said they had to separate 40 people involved in the brawl and have questioned several witnesses. Meanwhile, both families say they plan to take legal action against Wave Country for lack of security to prevent the fight.
The park’s management released a statement addressing the incident:
“We are very concerned about the incident that took place at Wave Country on Saturday. The safety and well-being of our customers is our highest priority. While an internal investigation is underway, we will continue to provide access and recreational opportunities to everyone in Davidson County.”
