MIDDLETOWN, Conn. — Middletown Public Schools is postponing all home athletic events for Wednesday after a fight broke out at a basketball game Tuesday night.
The district said the decision was made out of an "abundance of caution" following the fight at the end of the varsity boys basketball game between Middletown and Weaver (Hartford) High Schools.
The district said they plan to have athletic events resume on Thursday.
School officials and Middletown police were aware of a rumored threat of retaliation, but the district said that police determined the threat to be unsubstantiated. There will be an increased police presence at the school until the end of the week and the superintendent activated the school’s crisis team.
The fight included both students and adult spectators.
"District and School Administrators, along with the Middletown Police Department, were able to quickly control the situation," said Jessie B. Lavorgna, Director of Communications for Middletown Public Schools. "There was one minor staff injury reported."
Officials said that Middletown police are reviewing video footage to determine the cause and if future arrests are warranted.
“It’s certainly disappointing,” said Glen Lungarini, the head of the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference, or CIAC. The brawl broke out Tuesday evening following Middletown High School’s varsity boys basketball victory over Hartford's Weaver High School. “We never want to see a scene like we saw yesterday. We never want to see people put in danger,” said Lungarini.
We know the fight started during the post-game handshakes on the Middletown court. One staff member suffered minor injuries. Videos that have circulated on social media show a person stumbling to the court after being hit by several people surrounding that person as they continue to punch and kick. The brawl involved both students and adult spectators. You can see some people attempting to break it up while others had to be physically restrained.
“Often what we see happen is some sort of narrative from outside the team and game come into that area and then we see issues manifest,” explained Lungarini.
Middletown Public Schools and the police department are working together to investigate the fight and take any appropriate and necessary action, officials said.
It’s not clear exactly what led up to the incident, but the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference told FOX61 it appears the event was properly staffed with both security and police. They say this is a problem bigger than sports. “We are experiencing increased behavior in classrooms as well.”
Superintendent Dr. Vázquez Matos activated the high school's crisis team and has placed additional staff at the school to support students and teachers.
Fran Rabinowitz, the head of the Connecticut School Superintendents Association, attributes social and emotional behavior issues to pandemic isolation.
"We have seen a rise since COVID in how students deal with each other and how they deal with their feelings in general,” said Rabinowitz. "Districts have increased their hiring of social workers and psychologists to deal with the problem but there just aren’t enough of them. It’s very unfortunate that adults became involved because again, our students look to them as models of how to handle disputes,"
Tuesday night’s incident was not the only incident. A 2nd high school basketball fight broke out Monday night following the Wilbur Cross vs. Bassick game in New Haven.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Jennifer Glatz is a digital content producer at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jglatz@fox61.com.
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