AAU Basketball Coach Trades Punches With Referee In A Solid Travel Ball Fracas

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Let's go to some cash cow warehouse over the weekend where yet another AAU basketball tournament was being held and college scholarships were on the mind of many when all of a sudden all hell broke loose on one of the dozens of basketball courts.

That's where we had a coach and referee trading punches in front of stunned athletes who were just there to compete, show their skills, get some footage for the footage bank and impress recruiters that would hopefully one day hand them a basketball scholarship.

Let's get to the fight and then provide some analysis:

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Self-described "Proud Gen X Democrat" Lynne Martin, who says "Vote Blue," had her phone rolling as the action got hot and heavy. She reports on Twitter that the coach "was escorted out by many security officers," and notes the "team forfeited" and didn't play on Sunday.

This isn't anything out of the ordinary. I've been posting stuff like this for years on OutKick. And it's not exclusive to just random parents paying huge money for their kids to chase college scholarship dreams. Back in 2021, Ohio State football coach Ryan Day's son was blasted in the eye by an opponent during a game.

At a tournament in Wisconsin back in 2020 (I'd forgotten about this one), coaches and fans traded punches and knocked out teeth in a wild 10-man brawl. And it's not just centered in one part of the country. Just this year, in Vermont(!), a man died soon after a wild kids' basketball game fight where parents were going nuts.

Just last week, a coach and parent were going at it in a parking lot when one of them went to a car to get a gun. At some point, someone ran into a table, it sounded, according to someone like a shot was fired, and all hell broke loose inside the gym.

This weekend's action is just another belt loop on the travel ball circuit. Just another day. Just another dollar spent chasing athletic glory.

After some quick Google analysis, these numbers check out:

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Folks, is all of this fighting worth it?

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Joe Kinsey is the Senior Director of Content of OutKick and the editor of the Morning Screencaps column that examines a variety of stories taking place in real America. Kinsey is also the founder of OutKick’s Thursday Night Mowing League, America’s largest virtual mowing league. Kinsey graduated from University of Toledo.