Basket-brawl teams play short-handed

FAIRBORN, Ohio (WDTN) - The two teams involved in a brawl at a high school basketball game last week that left a player seriously hurt hit the court for the first time since the incident Tuesday. Fairborn and Miamisburg high schools faced their opponents short-handed after nine players were suspended, each for one game.

Eric Spahr, commissioner of the Greater Western Ohio Conference, said those suspensions were handed out after watching video of the fight with the athletic directors from each school. Spahr said the suspended players, two from Miamisburg and seven from Fairborn, were seen leaving the bench during the brawl. 

"It's a tough situation," said Spahr. "There's a lot of interest and there's a lot of focus right now on this incident and we're working through it."

Fairborn faced Troy at home Tuesday, replacing the suspended players with Junior Varsity team members. Fans were reluctant to talk about Friday's incident, but one parent who saw the fight said he was saddened by what happened, and called it an embarrassment to the entire conference.

"It wasn't the type of thing you want to see in a high school game, but personally I blame it on the officials because they let it get out of hand. They should have been calling fouls or calling coaches and saying, 'Look, you need to get the players under control, and they didn't do that,'" said Fredrick Williams, a Fairborn parent.

Meanwhile, Miamisburg fans and parents signed a giant get well banner for Viking player Austin McCoy at the school's game against Bellbrook Tuesday. The student athlete underwent surgery to repair damage done to his face during the brawl.

Miamisburg's head coach Tim Fries also addressed the crowd before the game.

"It was the worst incident I've ever been a part of in my 30 years of being around the game of basketball, however I commend our players, fans and parents for handling the situation with class and clarity," said Fries. He repeatedly called what happened to his player an "assault."

It's still not clear what started the brawl, because video of the incident has not been released to the public, although Spahr gave 2 NEWS a taste of what he saw.

"It's the actions of two individuals to be quite frank with you and I don't want it to be brushed that Fairborn is, all you know, all the players are that way because they're not," said Spahr.

Those two people, a player and a Fairborn student ,will face additional disciplinary action from the school, Spahr said.

Fairborn detectives are now reviewing that video in order to determine if charges will be filed. Officers want to see all the video available, so if you caught the incident on camera, call Fairborn police at 754-3066 ext. 3338.