More injuries, suspensions in Bloomingdale youth football fight
At least four people were hurt during a melee among parents and players at a youth football game last month in Bloomingdale, police said Thursday in releasing more details on the skirmish.
Also, the two teams involved, from Bloomingdale and Hanover Park, apparently have been suspended for the rest of the season. An initial sanction keeping parents involved in the fracas from attending any league-related functions has been dropped, according to one parent.
Initial police reports pegged injuries as limited to one person. But police have learned more were sustained during a fight that broke out at a game between the Bloomingdale Bears and Hanover Park Hurricanes just before 4 p.m. Sept. 25 at Circle Park in Bloomingdale. Both teams are part of the Bill George Youth Football League.
“It appears from the information gathered that there were several people involved in swinging and striking other people,” said Bloomingdale Police Chief Frank Giammarese. “But only one person was willing to sign a complaint, a man who was trying to get his wife out and feels he was struck without provoking anyone.”
While this man was initially reported as the only one injured, Giammarese added that a 14-year-old player from Hanover Park told police a woman poked him in the eye through his mask.
“But he said he thought it was done inadvertently by a parent trying to break up the fight,” Giammarese said.
The player was treated in an ambulance that accompanied police officers to the park, according to police reports.
Others reported being struck, including a girl and her mother, but neither filed complaints, Giammarese said. In addition, parents who did not wish to be named told the Daily Herald of more severe injuries, but none of their claims could be verified in police reports.
No arrests were made since the fight, which started when players fought over the final play of the game. Parents initially entered the field to break it up, but the fight escalated, police records stated.
Stephanie Lane, whose son plays for the Hurricanes, said both the Bears and the Hurricanes in the league's 133-pound division — which comprises mostly eighth-graders — are suspended for the rest of the season. Officials from the league, which oversees both teams, have not responded to repeated Daily Herald inquires.
The Bill George website lists each team's most recent game as a loss.
In addition, Lane said, league officials initially barred parents from both teams from attending any league event — even if it involved their other children who play in different divisions or participate in cheerleading.
But Lane said she and a few parents showed up at a meeting of league officials on Wednesday night at Brunswick Zone in Carol Stream, and they were permitted to listen to parts of the proceedings. After the meeting, a league representative said the parents' ban was overturned but team suspensions remain, Lane said.
Bloomingdale police are still investigating the brawl and seek photos or video from the event, but Giammarese added, “We also want to resolve this matter and move forward.”