The Indoor Football League clash between the Massachusetts Pirates and the Arizona Rattlers descended into chaos as a mass brawl broke out between players and fans in the stands.
On Monday, the Pirates trailed the Rattlers by nine points with the score at 52-43 as 32.7 seconds remained in the fourth quarter. However, Pirates defensive back Leon O’Neal Jr. leaped into the stands to confront a fan who reportedly heckled the players.
O’Neal appeared to be ushered away from the incident when more fans began shouting, and other players responded. Several Pirates players entered the stands where several punches appeared to be thrown.
It is unclear which players were attempting to escalate the fight and which ones may have been attempting to keep control of the situation. Five players were ejected while least one fan was thrown out of the stadium as a result of the clash, which left a young child crying in the front row.
“I heard the Rattlers start saying, ‘Oh, he’s hot’, so I looked over and I saw him jump over,” the sideline reporter for the game's broadcasting team said. “There was a fan over there. He was in the fan’s face.
“I don’t know what he said, but he hopped over there - didn’t even touch the wall.”
The Indoor Football League swiftly announced indefinite suspensions for O’Neal and teammates Chris Ingram and Charles Williams, as well as coach Patrick Pass. IFL commissioner Todd Tryon was furious with the incident, insisting it was a unique lapse that the league will not tolerate.
“Under zero circumstance can you ever go beyond the wall and into the stands,” Tryon said in a statement. “This is a one-time incident that does not reflect what the IFL stands for. We are a family friendly league that offers great sports entertainment, and we will continue to build on that moving forward.
“What was a very exciting game was marred by the actions of a few. These actions will never be tolerated and are being fully dealt with.”
The IFL is the most prominent professional indoor football league with the highest number of currently active teams. The 2023 season consists of 14 teams across two conferences, with each team playing 16 games over 19 weeks. With the closure of the Arena Football League in 2019, the IFL is the oldest active professional indoor football league in North America.
The IFL is also the second-longest running professional football league in the US after only the National Football League; the league was founded in 2009 and is contesting its 15th consecutive season of play in 2023.
