[[Almost) Another embarrassing Incident for Detroit [Bro Rice/Cass Tech Football Game]

[firstandten]

On Wayne State's campus football field all day Saturday was the kickoff of the prep high school football season. You have games with city, suburban and outstate teams. This was the first year in Detroit, previously the games were held at EMU.

The featured game of the day was Cass Tech v Brother Rice.
During the third quarter a huge commotion was near the South entrance which sent hundreds of people running to the other side of the stadium trying to get out. The Cass Tech players hit the ground on the sideline and then the Brother Rice players seeing what the Cass players were doing shortly did the same.

Of course the game was stopped, the DPD responded quickly [[WSU police needed support). In the article talking about the incident it was said that it was the result of a fight. The police in the article would not comment if guns were involved but I heard that at least two guns were drawn but no shots fired.
The way people were running away from the scene would indicate that some folks saw some guns involved.

Thank goodness, nobody fired or else we would have been on national news and not in a good way.

I wanted the Brother Rice supporters and team to get a taste of a football beat down but they didn't need to see the crazyness that had nothing to do with the game.

[TexasT]

I was there watching the game. It really sucks that something happened because until then, it was a great environment and event. I was really enjoying it.

First I heard there was *A* gun drawn, then a girl who was near the incident said there wasn't a gun, but someone shouted "GUN" and everyone freaked out. People started running and hopping the fences, but then returned. Not 15 minutes later, same thing.

But it was handled and the game went on. Cass Tech won.

Really unfortunate.

[Goose]

why would anyone risk being at ANY of these events, much less the players... unless there is a full friskdown and metal detectors I wouldnt go near these events... its sad, but this is getting to be the norm rather than the exception....

[RaumVogel]

Let the pot smokers out of jail, then you have room for violent types.

[laphoque]

Glad no one was hurt. People need to resolve their conflicts away from mass events like this and without guns.

[kenp]

Let me guess, two girls started a fight.

[TexasT]

From Mlive:

Things became bizarre as student fist fights broke out in the third quarter in the tent seating right behind the south end zone, scattering fans onto the field in a panic. Although the situation was never escalated into a dispute between a few individuals and didn’t involve any weapons, the overreaction from the crowd sent a brief panic through the stadium. Once officers rushed to the scene everything settled down.

http://highschoolsports.mlive.com/ne...ate-champions/

[louis]

Almost you say? well at least we are getting better

[superduperman]

***sigh***

[Zulu Warrior]

First of all...the article inaccurately represents that it was a student fight...there is no actual proof that these were students of either Cass or BB Rice ...since there were 8 other schools that played on that same field that day and there was general admission from the public

Secondly, WSU police handled everthing...DPD was not called...since WSU patrols that area for DPD... I commend WSU police for quelling the tumult very quickly.

Third, while it is always an unfortunate incident when kids fight, it is not something localized to Detroit...many suburbs have experinced this...as was obvious as both teams had a take shelter plan while commotion ensued.

All in all, it was a great game...and great effort by both teams...

"Together, Forever, and Ever and Ever....CT!"

[hybridy]

unfortunately our society is full of embarassing incidents this summer...and this list is outdated

http://www.buzzfeed.com/jtes/9-acts-...otry-in-2-mont

[downtownguy]

For those that want to say the sky is falling and this is the end for Detroit, I point out this happened at many football and basketball games I went to when I was a student at Cooley HS four decades ago. Maybe the sky is falling, but not as fast as you may think.

[Lowell]

Provided to me earlier today...

[Brother Rice’s] President's Message to the Community

Monday, August 27, 2012

Dear Parents:

Your son's safety is of utmost importance. Our school is a friendly environment. Our students often refer to it as their home. We preach the values of family every day. Our procedures are consistent with the best practices of safe schools - access control, security personnel on hand, cameras, good communication between faculty, students and administration. Our professional staff is conscious and supportive of these measures and as a result we have a great learning environment.

Our ability to control this environment obviously changes when school activities take place off-site. As many of you know, our football team opened the season this past weekend by playing Cass Tech in the Prep Kickoff Classic at Wayne State University. The event was sponsored by the Detroit Sports commission, a branch of the Detroit Visitors Bureau, whose mission is to bring high profile sporting events to the greater Detroit metro area. The Detroit Sports commission has successfully brought the Super Bowl, NCAA and other high profile events to Detroit without significant incident over the past decade.

During the course of the game on Saturday night, a fight erupted at the south end of the facility between members of two local rival gangs. At about the same time, fireworks from the Tigers' game began and in the confusion, someone in the nearby crowd yelled something about a gun and caused a panicked stampede of a hundred or more people onto the field. The game stopped and the overflow crowd became suddenly aware that something was very wrong - but it was unclear to the vast majority of the spectators what happened at first. As a precautionary measure, individuals on the sidelines yelled at the players to lay down in case there was imminent danger of flying bullets. Perhaps you have seen this photo circulating on twitter and elsewhere - it is shocking and upsetting given our expectation of simply enjoying a high school game on a warm weekend evening in the fall.

The good news, and I have confirmed this with the Wayne State University Police force responsible for overseeing the event, is that there was NO evidence of any weapons or gunshots during the two separate altercations that occurred at the game. Our students were not in imminent danger. No one from Brother Rice or Cass Tech was involved in the incident. The fact of the matter is that individuals associated with two rival gangs were arrested for their role in the incident.

The game did not restart until the Wayne State University security chief, Detroit Police Department, coaching staffs and referees had consulted about the incidents and the safety of continuing the game. We were assured that there was no immediate danger to the players and that the incidents were limited to two fights not involving weapons with all individuals involved arrested immediately on site. It was the collective decision that the situation was secure and that both teams were safe to continue playing. In response to the incidents themselves, the police department immediately deployed extra officers to the stadium. Further, at the end of the game, the players were escorted off the field to the buses by the police department. The buses were then escorted by a police convoy until they were on the freeway and well on their way back to the school.

It is clear that safety was a part of the planning process. It is also clear, in retrospect, that while there was no immediate danger to any member of the Brother Rice community, the shock of confusion and fear that many of us experienced on Saturday evening has caused us to re-evaluate our school's policies with regard to travel, times and sporting venues. Moving forward, we remain committed to placing safety as the top priority for all members of the Brother Rice family. In light of the experiences at this event, our administrative team will meet to review and make recommendations that will certainly include policies involving game times, venues, security plans and modes of communication to crowds and families at high-profile events.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Thank you very much for your support of Brother Rice.

John

John Birney '76
President
Brother Rice High School

[firstandten]

That is re-assuring to hear and I do hope that schools like Bro Rice will come back in the future for this event. I heard the Det Sports Commision will do this event next year. Other than the incident the event was well attended and seemed to be better received than when it was at EMU.

And its true that just as the incident was happening the fireworks at Comerica was going off [[ You could see the fireworks really well from the top of the bleachers) Anywhere else it might not have been an issue but because Detroit is what it is people immediately will think the worst.

I think with a few adjustments with security and beefed up security for the last two games of the day this event could be something people look forward to at the start of the HS football season.

[kenp]

It looked like the stands were packed which is very good. It wasnt like that at EMU.
The only tweek I would suggest is not to have a late game on Saturday.

[TexasT]

It looked like the stands were packed which is very good. It wasnt like that at EMU.
The only tweek I would suggest is not to have a late game on Saturday.

The stands were packed. Hundreds of people had to watch from the tracks.

The game started over an hour late because the previous one ran over. They shouldn't try to pack so many games so close together. Also, more concessions stands needed - one concession for 10K people was no bueno.

[Zacha341]

^^^ Yeah I drove by there on the way home and was thinking that it would work if you brought your own eat and drinks.