I have heard and read much about youth violence, but unfortunately I got to witness it first hand tonight when the second game of the Paul Kuczo Holiday Tournament at Stamford High School, between the Black Knights and Brien McMahon, was halted at the end of the third quarter when several fights spilled onto the court from the stands.
The remainder of the game was suspended and Stamford, which was leading at the time, 56-32, was awarded the victory.
I spent the first half of the game sitting with New Canaan coach Jeff Bussey not far from where the incident first broke out. Bussey, who was scouting the game as well as the opener between Weaver and Westhill, left at halftime or I would not have moved to the other side of the gymnasium and been out of harm’s way.
It was a surreal experience, watching the violence snowball. I cannot say I was ever scared for my safety, but at the same time, after making my way onto the court once the outburst appeared to be contained, I found myself keeping an eye on some athletes I knew to make sure they were OK.
As of tonight no one really seems to know what started the incident. Sgt. Robert Littlejohn, one of four officers from the Stamford police department assigned to the game, said he knew of two arrests but was uncertain of the charges.
Stamford coach Jim Moriarty was visibly upset by a time-honored holiday tournament being needlessly tarnished.
Hopefully more facts about what happened will be learned in the days ahead, but the most unfortunate thing sure to happen is the unwarranted hit the Stamford High School community is going to suffer.
There is no evidence that anyone involved in the incident has any link to the school. But because it happened at the school people are going to talk about safety concerns going to games.
For what it is worth, I would have no issue covering a game at the school tomorrow night, or the night after, or the night after that. Hopefully the people who attended the game feel the same way.
This has been a great sports year at Stamford High School in general and for high school sports in the city in particular.
It is unfortunate that, right before the end of the calendar year, that may be forgotten in the days ahead.
