Two mothers have been handed indefinite bans from attending their children's Catholic Youth basketball games after a violent on-court brawl that marred a sixth-grade match.
Violent Altercation Halts Children's Game
The physical confrontation erupted on December 20th during a game between St Teresa and Saint Clare schools in Staten Island, New York. According to reports from SILive, a heated verbal exchange between two mothers rapidly escalated into a full-blown fight.
Video footage obtained by the Staten Island Advance captured the disturbing scene. The women were seen shoving each other and throwing punches as tensions boiled over. Several other spectators attempted to intervene and separate the pair, but the ugly scenes continued unabated.
Even after the initial combatants were pulled apart, another fight broke out nearby, further disrupting the event meant for young athletes.
Indefinite Bans for Families Involved
Michael Neely, the CYO County Director, confirmed that the women were parents of children playing in the game and that other family members were also involved in the disturbance. In a firm statement, Neely outlined the consequences.
'Two families got involved and, in the end, their families have been banned from CYO indefinitely,' Neely stated. The ruling applies not only to the two mothers at the centre of the fight but to all family members who participated in the brawl.
New Zero-Tolerance Policy Announced
The incident has prompted a swift and stern response from local officials. Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella condemned the behaviour, emphasising the negative impact on the children.
'The CYO is no longer gonna tolerate fights that just ruin it and crush it for kids,' Fossella said. 'There were kids on the court crying because they didn't know what was happening, the game had to come to an end and these kids suffer.'
Fossella stressed that the core mission of the league is about the children, teaching responsibility, and ensuring they have a good time. 'The kids are the centre of this universe here. And every once in a while some spectators get out of control and ruin it for the kids and ruin it for everybody else.'
In a decisive move to prevent future incidents, Fossella confirmed a new strict rule. Any spectator exhibiting disruptive behaviour at a CYO basketball game will now face an automatic one-year ban. This policy signals a clear shift towards a zero-tolerance approach to maintain a safe and positive environment for young participants.
