A charity football game between members of New York City’s police and fire departments ended in chaos Sunday when a controversial hit sparked two brawls on the field.
Advertisement
This is the shocking moment a charity football match turned sour as a mass brawl broke out between police officers and firefighters playing in rival teams.
“I think one of the FDNY guys exchanged words with the NYPD player and then from there, I couldn’t see what was happening, I just saw the crowds come around the player”, Zayas said, before adding that cooler heads later prevailed. Bronx firefighter Tom Slane was escorted with a bloodied ear and face. “I heard it happening before I saw it happening”.
Fights had broken out between the teams as the players’ aggression spilled over from the ice to the teams’ benches.
“They hit our quarterback out of bounds, and that’s how things started”, FDNY coach Steve Orr said. “There were a lot of hotheads there”.
“He was pulled out of the crowd, the FDNY guy”, he said.
At the end of the game, all players did shake hands as they walked off the fields.
The NYPD’s Finest had a comfortable lead of 29-13 when the FDNY’s Bravest rushed across the field following the tackle, which didn’t result in a penalty. The game was initially tied, 3-3 when the fight broke out but the NYPD went on to win the game.
It’s not the first time that sports teams from the two services have clashed.
Advertisement
The NYPD did, however, acknowledge the incident in a statement the department later issued.
