We’ve all experienced coaches on every level of sports lose their cool during games, to the point where they get ejected for the rest of the game…
But running up into the stands and attacking a fan?
That’s a rarity right there.
Nevertheless, it indeed happened during a Virginia high school girls basketball game.
According to TMZ, it all went down last week on February 23rd, when Richlands High School was squaring off against Wise Central.
As you can see in the video, it appears that a man in a white shirt was heckling Richland’s head coach Tom Rife, and apparently, he said enough for Rife to run up in the stands and grab the man by the shirt and neck.
Needless to say, Rife was seeing red as he jumped over some chairs and into the stands to grab the guy, and he pushed the guy a few more times.
Richlands ultimately lost the game to Wise Central 54-51.
Tazewell County Public Schools Dr. Christopher Stacy said in a statement that they’re currently investigating the incident:
“While we do not condone any misconduct from our coaches or spectators at this time we are still investigating the actions of all parties involved.”
Of course, we don’t have any information on what the man in the white shirt said to Rife to set him off, but regardless, it’s pretty sad to see a high school basketball coach lose his cool like this in front of a bunch of teenagers.
That being said, of the fans was heckling or disrespecting one of the young girls that he coaches, we might have a different kind of story on our hands.
Stay tuned…
