The Indoor Football league has entered a crucial stage, where every single game matters. This football game between Massachusetts Pirates and the Arizona Rattlers had serious playoff implications. But for 5 members from the Massachusetts team – it was a day to forget.
IFL match turns to bar brawl
With a little over 32 seconds on the clock remaining, the pirates were trailing the home team by 9 points. The score line read 52-43 when events took a turn for the worse. Pirates’ defensive back, Leon O’Neal Jr. jumped into the stands to “talk” to a fan who allegedly threw racial abuse at the players.
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WILD scene at end of Rattlers game. 5 Massachusetts players ejected with 32 seconds left. Players going into the stands… If a fan said something — they need to be held accountable, but you can't charge the crowd in full pads. A kid in the front row looks to be crying?! pic.twitter.com/yqtjRKIjjn
— Cameron Cox (@CamCox12) July 3, 2023
It looked as if O’Neal was backing off, as more fans came to the defense of the victim. This triggered several pirates teammates to come in the defense of their teammates.
The video footage provided no clarity on which players were trying to egg the fight on, and which players tried to bring some peace. Nonetheless, the referee’s iron hand of justice swiftly arrived. Albeit after a few punches, the referees kicked out 5 Massachusetts Pirates players, their coach, and a fan from the Footprint Center, in Phoenix.
This whole chaos left a young child in the front row crying, providing a pitiful sight, which underscored this whole dirty situation.
The Aftermath
The IFL delivered indefinite suspension for O’Neal, Chris Ingram (teammate), Charles Ingram (teammate) and Charles Williams (coach).
Understandably, Todd Tryon, the commissioner for IFL, was furious with the events. “Under zero circumstance can you ever go beyond the wall and into the stands. This is a one time incident that does not reflect what the IFL stands for,” Tyron’s statement reads. “We are a family friendly league that offers great sports entertainment, and we will continue to build on that moving forward. What was a very exciting game was marred by the actions of a few. These actions will never be tolerated and are being fully dealt with.”
The Twitter world was furious at the incident too, with some calling NFL their careers “finished” after this ugly and unfortunate incident.
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Coach M. Patterson, the coach for the U.S. National Football team, tweeted out that “a buddy in that video says it was caused by a racial comment from a fan to a player.”
A buddy in that video says it was caused by a racial comment from a fan to a player
— Coach M.Patterson (@CoachMPatterson) July 3, 2023
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Despite that, the wide sentiment reflected what Cameron Cox originally tweeted out. “… If a fan said something — they need to be held accountable, but you can’t charge into the crowd in full pads.”
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