Louise game in Waelder halted after scuffle starts
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com

A fight involving players and parents during a basketball game between Louise and Waelder forced the Hornet's varsity team to leave town under police escort before halftime Tuesday night.

The Hornets were behind in a nondistrict game at Waelder 44-22 with 1:20 left in the half in that school's small, tightly-spaced gym that seats home and away teams on opposite sides, said Louise Superintendent Andy Peters.

The Louise varsity and junior varsity boys' basketball coaches were present, and Peters said he was told 15-20 Louise parents attended, but to the best of his knowledge, no Louise students were in the gym that night.

"In the second quarter, there gets to be a lot of taunting, especially from the other side," Peters said. "The people I word 'threatening' a lot, and that's how my people felt."

Peters said at one point, the mother of one of the Louise players began walking to the home side of the gym, to tell a parent there to stop hollering at her child. Right when she arrived, a Waelder junior high student reportedly went towards a Louise student and appeared ready to fight.

The two boys had words, pushing ensued, then each boy tried to hit the other.

"At that point, their adults in their stands took my player to the ground," Peters said. "They just jumped up and took him down and rolled on the floor and from there, it was a mob mentality."

Peters said the adult fans allegedly hit the Louise player in the head and yanked off his jersey.

The Louise fans reportedly never got involved in the fracas.

JV Coach Josh Curtis and two Louis players went and pulled the Louise player from the fight. Another player grabbed the Louise parent.

Coach Joe Bill quickly gathered the players and the one parent and ordered them into the locker room until a constable arrived. The constable then escorted the team from the locker room to their bus and followed it out of town.

LISD administrators talked with players, coaches and parents who were at the game. Peters also met with the Welder police chief and their superintendent.

The Louise player who pushed the Waelder boy will be disciplined according to the LISD student code of conduct's guidelines, meaning, "he's not going to be playing some games for a while," Peters said.

The mother who headed to the other side of the gym won't be allowed to attend games for a while as well.

Peters said while the Louise student mishandled the incident, students he interviewed "said they've been uncomfortable there before."

"We're not playing Waelder for many, many years, in any sport, probably for as long as I'm around, because I don't want to put our people in that situation," Peters said.

He said the players have since told him they were "just in shock" at the violence and taunting coming from the Waelder audience.

"Unlike the referees we have here, their referees did not control the taunting," Peters said. "Here at home we don't have these problems because we usually have two or three administrators at a game, plus a hired off-duty deputy and usually a constable who volunteers as well."

He said he's discussed the incident with the University Interscholastic League, which governs public school sports.

"The UIL can come down on us, put the schools on probation, the coaches, even me," Peters said.

It is possible actual criminal assault charges could result from the incident, but Peters doesn't think that's likely. No one was arrested as a result of the melee.

Dave Plymale, Wealder ISD superintendent, said the district is looking into the matter.

"All I can say is, it's being investigated by both schools and both will handle it internally," Plymale said. "Our chief of police has been involved with the process and we are dealing with it on our end. It's being investigated by me, and any information will be passed on to Mr. Peters."