Fight among parents breaks out at N. Charleston kids’ basketball tournament

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A fight that broke out Sunday among parents at a children’s basketball tournament has raised questions about the absence of security officers who could have broken it up.

The tournament was held at the North Charleston Athletic Center for students between fifth grade to tenth grade who participate in travel basketball to play opposing teams.

Video shows multiple parents throwing punches at one another in the middle of one basketball game with referees blowing their whistles and attempting to break up the fight.

“It was a little bit shocking. I wasn’t expecting anything like that to happen,” parent Tiffany Lyman, whose 13-year-old played in the tournament, said. ”Of course, basketball games can get pretty heated, but I’ve never seen anything like that in person before.”

Spectators said no security guards or personnel were present at the tournament to break up the fight.

“There was no one there to prevent this from happening or to deescalate the situation,” Lyman said. “You just don’t know what could happen and what can escalate from those type of situations. I feel like having security there deters maybe some of that from happening,”

The tournament was hosted by Teammate Basketball, a travel team-centered organization with a mission to provide clubs with quality events and resources, according to the Teammate Basketball Facebook page.

When Teammate Basketball’s tournament director was asked about Sunday’s incident and who was responsible for providing security, he responded “no comment” to all questions.

“I’m a little bit hesitant to continue,” Lyman said. “We do have another tournament in a few weeks with the same organizer, the same company; I’d like to know that they’re going to have security there and maybe a little bit more oversight.”

The North Charleston Police Department said when officers responded to a reported fight on Sunday afternoon, the crowd had already dispersed, and no arrests were made.

The City of North Charleston said whoever rents out the athletic center is responsible for providing security.

“I don’t want this to be a negative on the kids for the tournaments, but safety is also important,” Lyman said. “I want to feel safe going there. My seven-year-old who was there had to watch this happen, and I have to explain to him, ‘People can’t act like this.’ It’s just not okay.”

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