Woman Called Brick Memorial Students 'Embarassments To Our School,' Student Says

BRICK, NJ -- While Rutgers University officials continued to investigate the events surrounding a brawl in the Brick Memorial stands during Saturday’s NJSIAA football championships, a student says one mother in particular was to blame.

“We were doing nothing wrong and if the lady didn’t come to our section none of this would’ve happened,“ the student said in an email to the Patch Monday afternoon. The student said the woman also hollered vulgar comments at the student section toward the end of the game.

Video that surfaced Sunday showed the tail end of a confrontation in the Brick Memorial fan section at High Point Solutions Stadium, which was hosting several of the NJSIAA sectional football championship games on Saturday afternoon.

According to Richard Caldes, interim superintendent of schools for the Brick Township School District, the incident occurred with less than five minutes left in the Central Jersey Group IV final, in which the Mustangs lost to Jackson Memorial, 42-14. Caldes did not have details on the fight Sunday. Attempts to reach him Monday were unsuccessful.

Readers and commenters have said the fight occurred when an adult began urging students to chant “fire the coach” and was angered when the students did not join in. The adult -- identified as a woman -- threw a megaphone into the stands and then went into the stands and started tussling with students, several witnesses have said.

The student who emailed the Patch Monday confirmed those details.

“I was directly behind the fight from start to finish,” the student wrote. “The fight started when a mom came into the stands getting in our faces and screaming that we weren’t a good student section. She pushed a few people and then she took a megaphone and bashed it over a kid’s head, it broke pieces and fell to the ground.”

The student said other students came to the boy’s aid and tried to restrain the woman “because she was throwing her fists around.” Other adults stepped in to intervene, the student said, but added that some adults who joined in “came to fight.”

One adult, whom the student described as a woman with blonde hair, called the students a vulgar term “and embarrassments to our school.”

“The truth has to get out that we weren’t at fault, because people are twisting the story and claiming we started it all when we didn’t,“ the student said.

Several witnesses have placed the blame on the adults, and none of those who have contacted the Patch or commented on the article have in any way blamed the students, so it’s unclear why the student feels the kids are being blamed.

What does appear to have played a role, however is alcohol: witnesses have said at least two adults involved in the brawl were drunk, and that there were adults drinking alcohol at tailgate parties before the game.

How widespread the drinking was is unclear but a video sent to the Patch showed a group of women cheering and chanting ”Mustangs” prior to the game, with one woman clad in a sweatshirt emblazoned with “Brick Memorial Mustangs” holding a bottle of beer.

Several commenters noted that it wasn’t just Brick Memorial adult fans who were tailgating, but that it was widespread.

“We left at the end of the third quarter and I can tell you that there were people from ALL schools tailgating and drinking. It wasn’t just Brick,” one reader said.

Authorities were unable to comment Monday on whether alcohol was a factor.

A member of the Rutgers University communications staff said the investigation was ongoing and that the cause of the incident had not yet been determined. ”We don’t know yet if alcohol was a factor,” the staffer said.

The NJSIAA, which oversees high school sports in New Jersey, said through its public relations firm that it has a clear policy on alcoholic beverages.

Those rules state that anyone legally old enough to buy alcohol who knowingly brings it onto school property ”without the express written permission of the school board, its delegated authority or any school Principal,” is guilty of a disorderly persons offense.

High schools around the state ban the possession of alcohol at student activities, whether they are on school grounds or not, as parents who have attended season-end banquets can attest.

In addition, the NJSIAA has typically had agreements with venues it uses for championship events barring the sale of alcohol and even minimizing alcohol advertising wherever possible. At the wrestling championships in Atlantic City, for instance, beer is not available during three-day event, despite the fact that Convention Hall is equipped for it and routinely sells it at other events.

But Michael Cherenson, executive vice president of public relations for Success Communications Group, the PR firm for the NJSIAA, said part of its agreement with Rutgers includes the university providing security and “enforcing New Jersey state law.”

Rutgers University does not sell alcohol in High Point Solutions Stadium, but does allow tailgating for Scarlet Knights games and other events.

But how the university’s security polices alcohol usage at those tailgate parties -- beyond banning kegs and beer balls -- remains unclear. A follow-up email asking how tailgating is policed and how the security staff handles intoxicated patrons was not returned by Monday evening.