A youth football game in Maryland descended into a brawl among 30 people after racist slurs were hurled at players in a predominently ...
A youth football game in Maryland descended into a brawl among 30 people after racist slurs were hurled at players in a predominently black team, and two white parents have been charged with assaulting two black teenagers.
Nicole Starr Ellis, 31, and Keith Gregory Lockner, 32, were each charged with second-degree assault against two 13-year-old black players after a referee's call caused a fiery backlash.
The Olney Bears, made up of predominantly black and hispanic children, was winning against the North Carroll Colts, whose players are predominantly white children, when the referee made the call.
During the shocking outbreak Nicole Starr Ellis, 31, and Keith Gregory Lockner, 32, allegedly assaulted a 13-year-old black player after a referee's call caused a fiery backlash. They were each charged with second-degree assault
Other videos of the fight posted online captured adults and children yelling and being shoved to the ground
A white man in an orange sweatshirt was seen pushing and throwing punches at a young black player as onlookers helped the boy escape the fight
According to police the game had to be called off early as a brawl broke out among coaches, parents and players who walked off the field, as reported by ABC News.
The mother of a 14-year-old player Donna Jackson witnessed the fight and recounted the events in an interview with Dailymail.com.
'My son was upset because he's like: "They're telling us to go back where we came from and they're calling us n*****s on the field."'
Jackson said that she told her son to 'keep his head up,' adding that she cited the adage 'sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me' but her son couldn't shake off the name-calling and taunting.
'They kept telling us to go home, you don't belong here,' the teen told his mother.
'This was racially-motivated,' Jackson said of the incident. 'This is why everything transpired - because in the beginning they were taunting the kids telling them to go back to their home and calling them little n*****s on the field'.
Manchester Police Chief John Hess told ABC after the September 25 game at Christmas Tree Park in Manchester, Maryland: '[The game] disgustingly ended with approximately 30 persons in a melee, which is a very rare occurrence.
'The single officer on scene at the start was forced to use pepper spray to defuse the situation because his clear verbal commands were ignored, and the melee was escalating as he was waiting for multiple support units to arrive.'
The attorney representing Ellis Joseph Ashley told ABC news on Wednesday that his client denied 'all allegations of uttering racial epitaphs and of assaulting anyone'.
Meanwhile, Lockner's attorney Frank Turney declined to comment on the charge, which alleged that he punched an unidentified 13-year-old Olney player.
A youth football game between the Olney Bears - made up of predominantly black and hispanic children - and the North Carroll Colts - whose players are predominantly white children - ended in a brawl among at least 30 people and led to accusations of racism and charges against two white adults for assaulting two black children on the opposing team
Ellis reportedly assaulted the minor KC Robinson (right), the son of Olney's head coach Kirk Robinson (left), who is facing disciplinary action after using foul language when talking to one of the referees
Robinson (left and right with player) said he was first suspended for two games for using foul language at the September 25 game but was later banned for life from coaching in the league
The Carroll County Youth Football League (CCYFL), to which both teams belong, revealed that the investigation has so far led to the expulsion or suspension of many people associated with both teams
According the District Court of Maryland for Carroll County, Ellis and Lockner's first trial is scheduled for December 7.
Ellis reportedly assaulted the minor KC Robinson, the son of Olney's head coach Kirk Robinson, who is facing disciplinary action. The league reportedly refused to reveal the names of those facing consequences but Robinson confirmed that he was one of them.
Robinson said he was suspended for two games for using foul language after disagreeing with the referee's decision back in September but he was later banned for life from coaching in the league.
The ex-coach admitted that he thinks the decision was unfair because he was defending his family.
Tamisha, the sister of the other player who was assaulted - who remained unidentified for privacy reasons - said that her brother was being taunted as tensions increased.
'I went over to him originally...and I just asked him if he was OK, and he said: "They're calling me the N-word, they're calling us the N-word, they're taunting us,"' she told ABC.
She recalled telling him not to worry as he cried so hard that he 'couldn't even catch his breath'.
'Go to your coaches, just stay with them,' she said.
In a video posted to social media of the moments before the fight started Robinson was seen having a tense conversation with the referees after a player on his team was hurt.
'Calm down!' one of the refs shouted as parents were also heard yelling in the background.
In a video posted to social media of the moments before the fight started Robinson was seen having a tense conversation with the referees after a player on his team was hurt (above)
The video of the fight, which was just over two minutes, also showed a group of being battling each other on the ground as a single police officer pepper sprayed the group and spoke into the walkie talkie on his shoulder
Robinson said after the incident in response to his expulsion: 'My job is to protect the kids that are on the field...and I'm paying the consequences for it. You can't tell me that any adult is going to be OK with - whether their child's black or white - being assaulted by another adult.'
Robinson's son KC was allegedly assaulted by Ellis once the brawl erupted. The young boy's mother LaTasha Robinson told ABC she witnessed her son falling to the ground as Ellis, Lockner and other parents of Olney players pushed and shoved through the irate crowd.
'He was upset, he was hurt. You don't just swing into a crowd and there's kids there,' LaTasha said.
Other videos of the fight posted online captured adults and children yelling and being shoved to the ground. A white man in an orange sweatshirt was seen pushing and throwing punches at a young black player.
Onlookers helped the boy escape the fight. It was not immediately clear who the man or football player in the video were.
The video of the fight, which was just over two minutes, also showed a group of being battling each other on the ground as a single police officer pepper sprayed the group and spoke into the walkie talkie on his shoulder.
The Olney Bears' players were allegedly being called racist slurs as tensions increased on the field before the fight broke out
Robinson said after the incident: 'My job is to protect the kids that are on the field...and I'm paying the consequences for it. You can't tell me that any adult is going to be OK with - whether their child's black or white - being assaulted by another adult'
'Break it up,' a man said over a microphone while off-camera voices were heard saying: 'Disgusting (and) what a mess.'
'Ladies and gentlemen please exit the facility in peace,' the announcer added as the chaos began to disperse.
The Carroll County Youth Football League (CCYFL), to which both teams belong, told ABC that their executive board launched an investigation into the incident last month.
Although ABC reported that as of Friday police and North Carroll Rec Council officials say that there's no evidence racism played a part in the fight, the CCYFL revealed that the investigation has so far led to the expulsion or suspension of many people associated with both teams.
The CCYFL's executive board wrote in a statement: 'As additional details emerge the CCYFL will continue to evaluate and take further actions as necessary.
'The League has a zero-tolerance policy for any physical altercations on its sidelines and unfortunately the decisions made by a few adults has impacted the season.'
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