The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source: WVLT
Posted: Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:25 PM
TSSAA Suspends Austin East, Brainerd High Schools After Altercation, Fights After Game
On Monday, The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) sent letters to the school administrations at both Austin-East Magnet High School and Brainerd High school that served as notices that both basketball teams would be suspended until "the incident is thoroughly investigated and effective administrative action is taken by your school's administration to address it, deal with those responsible, and prevent future incidents of this type."
An AE player, who wished to remain anonymous, said the brawl occurred just before halftime, with 2:20 left in the first half. Austin-East led 36-32 at that time.
Hamilton County deputies said the fight consisted of parents, students and players. The condition of the student investigators said was injured is unknown.
According to the letter from TSSAA, one TSSAA Basketball Supervisor who was in attendance at the game said that the fight was the "worst he has ever seen in 36 years."
"This is not simply a matter of two players having an altercation in the heat of a contest," the TSSAA letter read. "This melee reflects a loss of perspective by all those who participated in it. Occurrences like this undermine our ability to accomplish the objectives of high school sports and are simply unacceptable."
AE Coach Marcus Stanton spoke about the fight to families who attended Saturday's game and plans to reach out to any players' families who were not able to attend.
The brawl is under investigation and those who took part in the fight could face charges, according to Hamilton County deputies.
The game featured two top-five teams in the state in Class AA. Austin-East is currently ranked second, Brainerd fifth.
The Roadrunners beat Brainerd back in December, 74-69. Before the teams' suspension, the two schools were scheduled to meet again on Saturday, February 10.