Texas Arena Football Game Turns Barbaric As Players Fight Fans & A Metal Chair Is Used As A Weapon
It's true that everything in Texas is bigger including the arena football fights between players and fans in the stands.
Chaos erupted late Saturday night in the fourth quarter of a game between the West Texas Warbirds and Dallas Prime when players fought each other and eventually fans in the stands at Ector County Coliseum in Odessa.
In a statement, Warbirds' President Leif Kertis called the incident "embarrassing, regrettable, and inexcusable," before adding that the organization is cooperating with local authorities.
"We are confident that once details emerge many items will be cleared up. We can confirm that as of right now no Warbirds players, coaches, or staff are subjects of the investigations."
Much of the focus of Saturday's chaos centers on players fighting fans and one fan whacking a player with a folding chair.
Kertis, who says his team isn't under investigation by authorities, also noted that the person using the folding chair as a weapon "is not, and has never been part of our organization in any capacity."
"No matter where fault, blame, or culpability lies we owe the people of the Permian Basin an apology. You should never be concerned for your safety or your child’s safety at our games. We are taking the appropriate steps to mitigate any possibility of reoccurrence in future seasons by working with the Coliseum and ECSO on improved proactive measures as well as response management,” Kertis added.
KOSA, the CBS affiliate in Odessa, estimates the fight lasted for an astounding ten minutes, making it one of the longest fan-on-player, player-on-player fights in football history.
It's one thing to see some players trading punches during a heated arena football game, but it's a whole other level to see a fan lining up a premeditated metal folding chair shot to an opponent's head.
