Basket Brawl: Hoops Players From Katy, Tompkins Face Disciplinary Action Over Melee

KATY, TX -- The Katy Independent School District and the UIL are considering disciplinary action after video of a bench clearing brawl between basketball players at Katy High School and Tompkins High School went viral.

The incident happened during a basketball game on Jan. 6 between the district rivals.

Stacey Nolen, whose child attends another school, was watching the game and shot the video on his cell phone.

According to a Houston Chronicle report, the Tompkins students who were at the game as spectators wore cutoff shorts, sleeveless tanks and cowboy hats to the game to mock students from Katy, which has a long history of agriculture.

Nolen said students who were at the game began mocking and trash talking players on the court, which continued throughout the game.

With just 30 seconds in the game, a foul occurred, and the benches and stands were emptied in a free for all.

"I've never been to a cage fighting, but it almost felt like it seemed like cage fighting,” Nolen told KPRC.

Katy ISD officials held an emergency meeting the day after the incident to consider any disciplinary action, and since then the States UIL executive committee has began looking into the matter.

The Katy Independent School District issued a statement on Monday.

“The District is greatly disappointed in the decisions taken by our players, which have now circulated on some social media platforms. At Katy ISD, the safety of all students and staff is top priority, and we will work to ensure these types of incidents do not occur again. We ask parents to join us as we use this as an opportunity to teach our students better sportsmanship and self-discipline."

Image: slgckgc via Flickr