Shocking moment High school girls basketball coach jumps on stage to fight with spectator
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Shocking moment High school girls basketball coach jumps on stage to fight with spectator
- Coach Tom Rife was seen attacking a man in the stands on Thursday.
- Rife climbed onto the side chairs before lunging at the man.
- It’s unclear what the man said earlier, but Rife can be seen calling for safety.
A Virginia basketball coach lost his temper at a game Thursday when he jumped into the stands to fight with a spectator.
Richlands High School coach of the year Tom Rife was caught jumping over chairs and lunging at a man who appeared to be yelling at him seconds before his team lost 54-51.
The confrontation was caught by another bystander as an aggressive Rife was seen grabbing the man by the neck as several people rushed to intervene.
An investigation has been launched to determine what caused the explosion at the Lady Blue Tornado basketball tournament.
“We are aware of the incident at the RHS women’s basketball game and while we do not condone any misconduct by our coaches or spectators at this time, we are still investigating the actions of all parties involved,” said Dr. Christopher Stacy, Tazewell County Superintendent. Public Schools, he wrote in a statement.
Richlands High School coach Tom Rife was caught jumping over chairs and lunging at a man who appeared to be yelling at him seconds before his team lost 54 to 51. Pictured: Rifle in Blue
Rife was named coach of the year after returning to replace the former coach of seven years. Pictured: Rife and Richlands Lady Blues basketball team
Footage of the altercation in the Richlands Middle School gym showed Rife grabbing the man and aggressively pointing at others in the distance.
The man did not budge from Rife’s grasp and seemed stunned when several women took the carriage from him.
A security guard then approached the two and separated them. It’s unclear if Rife was forced to leave after the incident, but he was seen being led away to the other side of the gym.
The controversial coach has an extensive coaching history that spans from the 1970s to 2005, according to the New York Post.
It’s unclear why Rife stopped coaching at the school in the early 2000s, but he returned following the former coach’s firing last year.
The altercation broke out in the Richlands Middle School gym at the Lady Blue Tornado basketball tournament.
The parents were shocked to see the incident unfold and called for Rife to be fired.
“The good guy at the network fired the coach who was amazing and had the emotional intelligence to control himself to the bare minimum we expect of our student athletes and replaced him with this,” one person wrote on Twitter. Our girls deserve better. I look forward to the immediate termination of the head coach.
“Coach was dead wrong here but parents are ruining high school sports,” added another. ‘Too many bleacher coaches, just enjoy watching the game. They’re just high school sports.
Others applauded Rife’s actions for taking action against the man in the stands.
‘The boy in the white t-shirt definitely had it coming. Good job coach,’ wrote one person.
However, it would be interesting to know the backstory. I’m sure some would be more understanding if the coach was defending or protecting the girls on his team if that fan was disrespectful or inappropriate, another chimed in.