A heated rivalry between two high school football teams erupted in a huge sideline-clearing brawl, which five black high school football players from Long Island are claiming started after they were called the n-word by the players and coaches, the New York Daily News reports.
The black players from Amityville High School, which would lose the game to Comsewogue High School in Suffolk County, have filed a lawsuit, alleging assault.
According to the Daily News, the game, which had been chippy throughout, turned into a full-on brawl after a late hit in the third quarter.
"They tried to hurt us," Travon Duncan told WABC-TV. "I was swarmed by not one, but three to four players."
Duncan and the other players say the Comsewogue team is made up mostly of white players and coaches and that they used racist language throughout the game.
"Their coach comes up to me and he grabs me viciously by my left shoulder pad and said, ‘N—ger, I’ll kill you,' " Duncan told the news station. "I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”
Ricky Jean-Michel says the coach came after him during the melee using foul language.
"I remember the coach, in my face, grabbed my chest plate and say ‘I’m gonna f—king kill you,' " he said.
Jean-Michel also claims that the players from Comsewogue taunted him during the game.
"Before the halftime break, the kids were getting in our faces, like 'Yeah, it's coming for you, all game, all game, n—ger this, n—ger that,'" he said.
The Daily News notes that the principal of Amityville High School filed a complaint about the Comsewogue players and coaches with the district’s athletic association and the police department.
"The district is extremely concerned and disappointed with the actions that took place at Comsewogue,” an Amityville assistant superintendent said.
It’s unclear what exactly the players are suing for, or what they may expect in damages. No one at Comsewogue spoke to the Daily News about the incident because of the pending litigation.
Read more at the New York Daily News and WABC-TV.