Police break up brawl following basketball game between rival Cary high schools
Dozens of students were involved in a brawl at Panther Creek High School on Tuesday night after the end of the basketball game against arch rival Green Hope High School.
Panther Creek and Green Hope, which are located about three miles from each other in Cary, have a heated rivalry.
Around 9:15 p.m., a crowd of fans leaving the basketball game was drawn to an altercation between some people in the commons area, according to a joint statement from Panther Creek principal Gregory Decker and Green Hope principal Camille Hedrick.
Law enforcement officers and administrators from both schools immediately started breaking up the crowd and told people to go home. But some students did not comply and started altercations, according to the principals.
Many police officers responded
There were four off-duty Cary police officers providing security at the game. They were joined by 17 Cary police officers who responded to the call for help, according to Carolyn Roman, a Town of Cary spokeswoman.
Roman said that dozens of students were involved in the brawl but that no charges were filed because officers were focused on restoring order. She said it’s being left up to the Wake County school system to decide whether students will face disciplinary action.
“Federal student privacy laws prohibit us from sharing specific information about students, but you can be assured that the administration teams at Panther Creek and Green Hope High Schools are working together with WCPSS Security to investigate the incident to determine violations of our Student Code of Conduct and the appropriate disciplinary action for students involved. This type of behavior will not be tolerated,” the principals said.
Both principals also reminded students that they “can be proud of our school while still showing respect for our competitors and their fans.” They said students “can be competitors during the game and fellow students and neighbors after the clock runs out.”
“We recognize and appreciate the rivalry between Panther Creek and Green Hope High Schools,” the principals said. “Rivalry games are fun, but we must remember this is a friendly rivalry, which should be civil and respectful.” (The word friendly was in bold in the statement.)
This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 11:33 AM.
