Video Shows East Bay Youth Basketball Player Punched By Adult
HAYWARD (CBS 5) -- A youth basketball game in the East Bay last weekend turned violent when a teenage player was punched by an adult, possibly a coach.
A video posted on YouTube shows the incident occurring at a league championship matchup between the Oakland Soldiers and Oakland Rebels. Eight minutes before the end of the game, a man in a white shirt leaves the Soldiers' bench, comes onto the court and hits 16-year-old Patrick Hawkins of the Rebels.
"I was shocked for a moment. I was surprised that a man just came and hit me," Hawkins told CBS 5.
"He came around and as I was getting ready to wipe my face, I see a punch come and I tried to miss the punch and it was kind of too late," Hawkins said. "He got me on my neck and my lower jaw."
Hawkins said he is still shaken up by the incident, which occurred at a court in Hayward.
"I was scared because that was a grown man, and I am only 16-years-old. And the fact that he swung at me and actually connected and hit me, I was just blown away," Hawkins said.
Rebels Coach Ryant Diew called the police after Hawkins was punched. He said it was not clear who punched his player. The suspect could be an assistant coach or relative.
"If you look at the video, all four coaches are coming out with this guy, like they knew that this guy was going to do this," Diew said.
The coach said Hayward police did interview witnesses, but to his knowledge the man who threw the punch had already left before police arrived.
"A grown man hit a child, and that's all I can see. It was assault on a minor," Diew said.
Hawkins said he was treated by paramedics, but had a stiff neck and a headache for a few days.
CBS 5 attempted to contact the Hayward Police Department and the executive director of the Oakland Soldiers basketball team, but neither was available for comment Wednesday night.
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