Asian American Attacks: SF Coach Issues Apology, Bans Player Seen On Video Punching Asian Teen In Head
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) -- A San Francisco boys basketball coach issued an apology Monday following an altercation between his player and an opponent that was captured on camera and has since gone viral.
In the video first obtained by KPIX, two basketball players from opposing teams are seen diving for a loose ball during a tournament on Saturday, in Oakland.
A player on the San Francisco Generals gets a hold of the ball and throws it at a teammate before he pushes 14-year-old Evan, who plays for the South Bay Snipers.
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Another opponent then pushes Evan from behind and Evan falls to the ground. Evan is seen getting up in the video, walking away as words are exchanged then turning around before the opponent punches him in the head.
But South Bay Sniper parents, including Evan's father, said the physical altercation wasn't all that happened.
"Two-thirds of the team are Asian so they were being called the 'chink' name," said Eduardo who didn't want to release his last name. "The most infuriating thing is no one apologized."
Eduardo and one other parent said no one stepped in after the physical altercation, including the coach or referee.
One other parent who witnessed the confrontation claimed she had to force the director of the tournament to watch video of the incident after he initially refused to watch it.
"They said, 'Oh, we saw what happened,' and I was pressing them because I said, 'If you saw what happened you should not let that go," said Olivia who also did not release her last name. "They said, 'OK, we will ban him, but only for today,' and I said, 'That's it, they already left. You're not banning him for anything, you're not doing anything."
The tournament host, Grassroots 365, did not respond to KPIX's request for an interview or comment. The organization released a statement on their Instagram page Monday, a day after this news organization's story aired, that said they are investigating the incident.
San Francisco Generals Coach Donte Brown told KPIX in a statement that they "apologize for the unfortunate incident to Evan and his family" and they "do not condone violence or hate." Brown said he was not "aware of what was going on at that particular time."
The player who threw the punch has been banned from the team.
Eduardo said his son has a concussion from the blow to his head.
"He's walking very slowly, he was nauseated, he was dizzy," he said.
Evan's parents plan to file a report with Oakland police this week.