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Rowdy fans "reek" havoc during basketball game

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Average: 5 (1 vote)

Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA2x0EbbhA4

By Shannon Fiecke

A rowdy fan was tackled by the Shakopee High School activities director during a boys basketball game in Shakopee Tuesday after a Prior Lake High School student ran onto the court and interrupted a free throw.

The male student stole the ball from a Shakopee player near the end of the game and then began taking his own shots. Part of the incident is captured on a video posted to YouTube.

As the student jumped into the air, Activities Director John Janke tackled the student and dragged him to the sideline and forced him to the ground. Moments later, a couple Shakopee police officers, already at the game, took over.

As the game was temporarily suspended, more mayhem occurred, with some Prior Lake students throwing eggs onto the gymnasium floor.

Although their teams are clearly rivals and the game was described as spirited and loud as usual, the incident shocked both schools.

"This is just over the top," said Prior Lake Activities Director Mary Haugen, emphasizing that very few kids were actually involved.

Unfortunately, people are now painting all Prior Lake students in a bad light, she said.

"The kids in general were great; we don’t need to judge the masses by the actions of a few," she said.

Of his apprehension of the student on the court, Janke said he reacted in the manner he felt was most appropriate "to maintain the integrity of the game and hopefully maintain a safe environment and get the situation under control as quickly as possible."

This is the sort of thing you see on TV, he said. It’s certainly not something he or Haugen have witnessed during their careers.

"We’ve had to deal with a disruptive fan in the stands," Haugen said, "but nothing like this."

Haugen has learned since the incident that there had been talk among students that someone was going to do something — "it was just talk floating around," she said.

She said she and Janke took care of the incident as best they could, tried to get the kids calmed down, and then went on to finish the game.

During the timeout, the game announcer instructed students to remain seated.

Shortly later, in a move that some may have misinterpreted, Haugen asked her students to do a cheer, hoping to "break the ice."

"It was so tense," she said. "The team was flat, they lost their focus. The teams needed some energy back — they weren’t the problems."

Prior Lake school officials are interviewing students to find out more about what happened and why. One student was identified as being involved in the egg incident and has been disciplined.

"We are going to continue to investigate if there are more people that need to be penalized for their choices," Haugen said.

The student who ran onto the court was disciplined by the school and also ticketed by police for disorderly conduct. Neither activities director knew what prompted the student to do such a thing.

Shakopee police are still investigating the incident, said police Capt. Jeff Tate.

Haugen said sometimes the public thinks students get away with wrongdoing because the public isn’t told how students are disciplined. Because of privacy laws, she can’t reveal such information.

"We do discipline them when they do something wrong here; we take a very firm stand," she said.

Haugen said she’s asked students to tell an adult in the future if they think something like this is being planned.

The school has also been working hard to help students understand this wasn’t funny and they shouldn’t make the trouble-makers into heroes.

"Our basketball team was very disappointed. They were very embarrassed," Haugen said. "They couldn’t understand why their fans would do that — the egg-throwing especially."

Shannon Fiecke can be reached at (952) 345-6679 or sfiecke@swpub.com.


Pardon the Pun...

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PAT T LAND's picture

Pardon the Pun folks......But that took a lotta Balls


Submitted by PAT T LAND on February 29, 2008 - 8:46am.

Not sure why Ms. Haugen...

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Not sure why Ms. Haugen thinks her move was "misinterpreted".

Pretty black and white:

P.A. announcer instructs ALL fans to remain seated for the remainder of the game. AFTER that instruction, Ms. Haugen instructs her study body to stand and cheer.

If an adult in her role doesn't follow the rules, why should the kids?


Submitted by wis999 on February 29, 2008 - 9:19am.

NO TECHNICALS CALLED? I...

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NO TECHNICALS CALLED? I have seen individuals at a Varsity level game thrown out and getting a technical for yelling at a ref. causing a delay in the game. I think that this fan caused a delay in the game by going on to the court, the fans who thew the eggs were causing a threat of injury to the players of both teams. There were also several ripe bananas in the bleachers that I have pictures of and also the broken eggs that were on the stairs. I'm an avid BB fan/player/coach of 40+ years and have never seen such deliberate disrespect for the players/game at this level.


Submitted by 1barista on March 2, 2008 - 7:27am.

Was a full-body tackle into...

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Was a full-body tackle into the hardwood floor really necessary here? I'm certainly not condoning the student's actions, but it seems like the response was disproportionate. Is there a reason they couldn't just walk up to him and arrest him without turning it into an episode of COPS? Even if the kid fled, so what? I'm sure half the people in the gym could've identified him and the police could've gone to his house and arrested him for disorderly conduct.


Submitted by Mark Nesvig on February 29, 2008 - 5:28pm.

Yes, I think that "the...

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Yes, I think that "the tackle" was just fine. A person in authority has the obligation to protect the lives of all those in attendance in a situation like that. What if later you found out that he had a gun etc.


Submitted by 1barista on March 2, 2008 - 7:10am.

What if I later found out he...

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What if I later found out he had a gun? That's what you're going with? Well, what if everyone in the stands had a gun? Maybe we should just tackle everyone first, just in case.


Submitted by Mark Nesvig on March 2, 2008 - 8:40pm.

I was at that game and...

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I was at that game and feared what might happen when this person tore across the floor toward our player. Unless you knew who this PL fan was, it was a total shock to watch this blatant act of aggression during a game. The police officers were on the opposite end of the gym, so it was up to a supervisor nearby to take action. Thank you John Janke for your quick response. My first reaction wasn't that the aggressor had a gun, but that his irrational behavior would lead to a physical assault on a player who had just suffered the death of his mother.


Submitted by 1saberfan on March 3, 2008 - 1:33pm.

what if he took the ball and...

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what if he took the ball and threw it in the stands or at a player...then they got hurt? well lets just show all the kids that there are no consequences for running out during the game, and throwing eggs all over the court, then i bet that no one will try it at the next game such as football or next years basketball game.


Submitted by ta75455ho on March 3, 2008 - 5:37pm.

Mark, I was responding to...

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Mark, I was responding to PAT T LAND's first comment. I would rather that the school officials & PD officers error on the side of caution than to have had things get out of hand.

Unfortunately I have a feeling that the student fan section will be under an even more watchful eye at games.


Submitted by 1barista on March 4, 2008 - 5:41am.

Hey Mark, stop being over...

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Hey Mark, stop being over dramatic. No one has the time, energy or resources to tackle everyone the MIGHT be carrying a gun to school events. Now, if someone in the stands was carrying a gun, then went onto the basketball court, stole the ball and began shooting baskets; well, that person has brought attention to themselves and deserve to be tackled. I take it you are the type of person that believes kids can do no wrong and authorities should sit around and do nothing? Then, when authorities do sit around and don't respond to a threat, you will be the first to complain and moan that authorities did nothing. People like you cannot be pleased.


Submitted by kidjon on March 4, 2008 - 10:43am.

Where did I say kids can do...

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Where did I say kids can do no wrong? Or that authorities should sit around and do nothing? In fact, I said that the kid should've been arrested and ticketed for disorderly conduct. I just don't think it was necessary to make a flying body tackle in the process. Everybody talking in support of the AD's actions likes to play the what-if game. Well, what if the AD had broken the kid's neck when he tackled him? Would he have had that coming to him for pulling a stupid prank?


Submitted by Mark Nesvig on March 4, 2008 - 2:18pm.

Nobody really knows what was...

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Nobody really knows what was going through Janke's mind when he decided to tackle the kid. In my opinion, Janke has the thought process of an old school administrator and he was upset because the student was making a mockery of the game. He tackled the kid because he didn't like what he saw. Janke lost his cool for a second, and afterwards claimed he was thinking of the safety of others.

So yes to me the tackle was excessive and an act of aggression... If he would have kept his cool and instead grabbed the kid's arm, took him off the court and held onto him until the police came over that would have been completely acceptable. It wouldn't have made youtube, and we wouldn't be having this discussion. I disagree with the argument that Janke was concerned about the safety of others. He just wanted to get the delinquent off the court.

And the gun thing, that's just a ridiculous argument.

I too am in the camp that the Prior Lake student should be punished to the fullest extent by the law, the school, and hopefully at home. I'd like to know what happens to him.


Submitted by goldengopher on March 4, 2008 - 3:23pm.

I should also note, that the...

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I should also note, that the form on the tackle was perfect. He wrapped up the kid, and drove him with his feet. You can tell Janke played football. I still think it was excessive, but I don't feel bad for the kid.


Submitted by goldengopher on March 4, 2008 - 3:27pm.

yea, i think the tackle was...

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yea, i think the tackle was not Appropriate for the situation. They should have tazered him. Welcome to the real world when you decide to pull a stunt like that. When you make a decision such as he did, he should expect any consequence to be appropriate. Do you think that he thought that it was ok do run out during a game and steel the ball? If he was eight years old, maybe but he is an adult and knew what he was doing was wrong and doing what the professionals do I think would have been more fitting. I know that there won’t be any more people running out on the court after seeing him get tazered


Submitted by ta75455ho on March 4, 2008 - 8:08pm.

I know how to resolve this...

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I know how to resolve this that everyone will be happy with-let's cane the rotten little kid, just like they do in the Phillipines. After being caned, he will never do that again.


Submitted by kidjon on March 5, 2008 - 4:14am.

Yes, a tackle was justified....

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Yes, a tackle was justified. It is easy to Monday morning quarterback someone who had a split second to make a decision. It was justified, and it was a beautiful tackle. That is the problem with this country, certain adults want to protect and feminize kids. In my day, if I had done some stunt like that, my dad would have tackled me after I got home. And this would have been after Athletic Director Joe Scheper tackled me.


Submitted by kidjon on March 2, 2008 - 7:55pm.

In this day and age I think...

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PAT T LAND's picture

In this day and age I think the School officials should act in a tactical Manner when the behavior of a few go over th top. We hear everyday of violence in schools, throwing eggs in a crowd of people and disrupting and disrespecting this event could of escalated into a situation were people could of gotten hurt.


Submitted by PAT T LAND on February 29, 2008 - 6:22pm.

Video removed by user - no...

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Miss Mollee's picture

Video removed by user - no longer available to view.


Submitted by Miss Mollee on March 3, 2008 - 3:19pm.

its now labeled Shakopee vs....

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its now labeled Shakopee vs. Prior Lake Tackle the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA2x0EbbhA4


Submitted by ta75455ho on March 3, 2008 - 6:37pm.

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