Public Barred From Clairton HS Basketball Game Following Brawl
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CLAIRTON (KDKA) -- Clairton High School's basketball game against Monessen was cut short Tuesday night when a brawl broke out, so school officials put some big changes in place for Friday's game in hopes of avoiding a repeat.
While the district and police continue to investigate what happened on Tuesday, the administration posted on Twitter that Friday's game was closed to the public. Only parents and guardians of the players were allowed inside.
Pending the investigation into Tuesday night's basketball game, tonight's athletic event 2/9/18 will be closed to the public, with the exception of parents & guardians of participating student-athletes. We thank you for your cooperation. #gobears #wpial pic.twitter.com/qElOsEAFlP
— Clairton School (@Clairtonschool) February 9, 2018
Because of that, there was an odd silence inside the gymnasium, the bleachers mostly empty.
"Sometimes they have to take precaution measures and be safe, and do what they feel is best to calm things down, considering what happened the other night," said Kawaki Bradford, a mother of one of the players.
No one wanted to risk a repeat of the violent brawl that erupted after two players from the opposing teams threw punches at each other, then the crowd jumped in.
"We wanted to make sure it was still open for the parents and guardians of the participating students, but we wanted to control the amount of people coming in here tonight," said Mike Linnert, Clairton's athletic director.
— Clairton School (@Clairtonschool) February 9, 2018
Friday's game was against St. Joseph from Natrona Heights, not rival Monessen; but, just the same, the district doubled the number of police from two to four.
As for a possible penalty from the WPIAL, parents are hoping their children won't be barred from the playoffs.
"I know they want to put penalties, but I wouldn't put too many penalties on for the kids, 'cause it's a learning experience, and I think they'll learn the lesson," said parent Leonard Robinson.
The next chapter happens on Monday when the WPIAL wants to meet with officials from both Clairton and Monessen.
