Butler football player taken to hospital during Friday’s game against Connellsville
A Butler Golden Tornado player was hospitalized after he was involved in a “scuffle” Friday, Sept. 27, at an away game against Connellsville Area Senior High School.
Eric Christy, Butler’s head coach, said he didn’t see the entire altercation between the two football players, but he helped carry his player off Connellsville’s field in its aftermath.
According to Christy, Butler was attempting an extra point following a touchdown in the third quarter when the scuffle broke out. The Butler player received medical attention from ambulance workers on scene before being taken by medical helicopter to UPMC Children’s Hospital.
“An incident went down where a player lost his helmet,” Christy said. “I was planning for the kickoff and turned around and saw a scuffle.”
The scuffle can be seen in a video that captured the game for a livestream Friday night, but the view of the fight is obscured. After the kicker boots the ball through the uprights, players from both teams can be seen falling to the ground as other players crowd around them in a flurry. Referees and people from the sidelines also rush in to break up the fight.
The video shows the game was delayed for about six minutes because of the altercation.
Butler Area School District’s athletic director Bill Mylan said Butler school district and Connellsville school district are each conducting investigations into the incident, and they have shared things in relation to the investigation.
Referees flagged both teams for personal fouls of unnecessary roughness on the play, Christy said. He also said Mylan was flagged after the altercation after sticking up for Butler’s team.
After the game, Christy and his wife visited the injured player at the hospital. The player was released from the hospital later that night, Christy said.
Christy added that he was trying to keep his team and Butler fans organized once the scuffle began and tensions rose between members of the two teams.
“Our staff and team did a fantastic job keeping their composure,” Christy said.
Mylan said he spoke with the players following the incident to inform them of their teammate’s status and keep emotional playing to a minimum. Mylan also said the players wear padded “concussion helmets” during practices, but those helmets are not worn during actual games.
“We did not want any kind of retaliation going on,” Mylan said. “Just go out and play hard within the rules of the game.”
Connellsville Area School District’s athletic director and interim superintendent Richard Evans did not return calls Monday.
