Players, fans and adults, engaged in a fight on the court following Tuesday night’s basketball game between Middletown High School and Hartford's Weaver High, leaving one with minor injuries, and others in disgust.
“It’s sad. They’re supposed to be being a role model for their kids and instead of trying to diffuse it, jumping in probably wasn’t helpful,” said Anna Marie Mignosa, a Middletown High School alum.
Tuesday’s fight is the second of its kind this week, the first coming on Monday at a game in New Haven.
“It’s about the kids having a good time and playing the game. I mean that’s supposed to keep them out of trouble, not get them in trouble,” said Joe Salafia, of Middletown.
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In a statement, Middletown District Administration and Middletown Police said they “were made aware of a rumored threat of retaliation,” but the police “deemed this threat to be unsubstantiated.”
As a result, Middletown postponed all home athletic events on Wednesday.
“I think they’re doing the right thing engaging the administrators, engaging the crisis team to bring this issue into the spotlight,” said Dr. Karissa Niehoff, Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations.
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Dr. Niehoff, who headed the CIAC from 2010-2018, said behavior like this has gotten worse as of late – a surprise to her coming out of the pandemic.
“We thought that we would get back to activity and there would actually be a little better behavior, and we’re finding that not to be the case nationwide,” Dr. Niehoff said.
Glenn Lungarini, Executive Director of the CIAC, said that instead, the last few years only exacerbated an already growing issue.
“We were hitting a crisis in mental health and social, emotional regulation and the pandemic added to that,” he said.
It’s moments like Tuesday that Barbara McClane views as a call for help, be it consciously or not.
“As a community, we need to get involved a little bit more,” she said.
Middletown Police continue to investigate the situation. The school said there will be added police presence throughout the rest of the week.
