A Georgia high school basketball game erupted into a brawl between the opposing teams after a white athlete allegedly called a Black player the N-word in the middle of the game, leading to criminal charges after tempers flared out of control, reports show.
Video of the Jan. 3 altercation has since gone viral on social media, showing the tense fight between Sonoraville High School and Rockmart High School in Calhoun, Georgia, about 70 miles north of Atlanta.
The fight escalated when one of the Black players knocked out two white opponents with a pair of vicious haymakers, so severe that law enforcement got involved, according to TMZ.
The Black athlete who threw the punches is now facing two charges of simple battery, police said. It did not appear that the white students involved would face criminal charges despite allegations of racism.
The video shows the fight erupted in the third quarter after one of the Rockmart players pushed a player from Sonoraville to the floor as the two were struggling for the ball.
The Sonoraville athlete who was pushed down quickly got back to his feet as the ball popped out of his grasp when he hit the floor, and then the Black Rockmart socked the Sonoraville kid in the face, decking him again. A moment later, the Rockmart player threw another punch at a second member of the opposing team who had rushed toward the fray, laying him out amid the chaos on the hardwood.
The second Sonoraville athlete was struck after sprinting toward the commotion.
The crowd reacted in shock, while the footage showed several people hurrying down from the bleachers and rushing the court to stop the donnybrook.
A report from the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office indicated that a Rockmart athlete may have been provoked by the opposing player’s repeated use of a racial slur.
The teen who seemed to spark the physical altercation is facing two counts of simple battery, according to the police report. TMZ reports the sheriff’s office stated that the 16-year-old on the Rockmart team lost his temper after his opponent “kept calling him the N-word.”
Representatives from both Rockmart High School and Sonoraville High School have yet to comment publicly about the incident.
