Brawl breaks out, barring teams from state playoffs

Recently, two teams at the high school level, Granville Central and J.F. Webb, literally broke out into a fight which included not just players, but students and spectators as well.

In a report by the High School OT, the following was stated on the incident from the district:

“The senior administration and school administrators of Granville County Public Schools are working closely with law enforcement officials to thoroughly investigate an incident that occurred at the varsity girls basketball game this past Friday evening between J.F. Webb High School and Granville Central High School,” the district said in a written statement. “Video footage, still photos and eyewitness accounts are all being reviewed as part of this process.”

As reported by the High School OT, all players who left their respective team’s bench will be suspended at least four games and face additional disciplinary actions from their school.

As a result for fighting, both programs have not only been barred from participating in state playoffs, yet have both been fined $1,000. Per North Carolina High School Athletic Association, it is a rule if a team has three ejections for fighting (or six ejections in general), the team automatically becomes ineligible to play in the post season.

Further in the report, the district gave more insight on what actions will be taken following the fight.

“The behavior of the students and spectators who participated in these acts of disruption and violence is absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Individuals will receive consequences according to the discipline policies of Granville County Board of Education, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association and N.C. criminal law.

”The school system also reserves the right to bar individual spectators from future sporting events and other school activities based on disruptive or unsafe behavior.”

The NCHSAA did not state specifically how many players were ejected due to “the nature of ejections and fighting we don’t comment or confirm numbers because schools always have the ability to appeal. Therefore, we have to treat it as an ongoing matter,” said the association’s assistant commissioner, James Alverson.

“The safety and security of our students, staff and community in our schools is our absolute priority. This extends beyond the school day and across all school-related events, including athletics,” the district concluded with in the report.

The game was forfeited between Granville Central and J.F. Webb and local law enforcement has opened an investigation on the incident.