A teen girl brutally attacked her opponent during a basketball game last month in Southern California. The assailant’s mother has been charged in the sucker-punch attack for allegedly telling her daughter to hit the other girl.
The attacker’s father – who is a former NBA player – apologized for the barbaric assault according to TheBlaze. During the tournament game between the SoCal Blaze and Dream Academy on Nov. 7, a player took a jump shot.
A defender put a hand in her shooter’s face, and the two players caused each other to fall down to the ground. Both players get up and start walking to the other side of the court.
According to NBC Los Angeles, The referee told NBCLA the other girl’s mother allegedly said to her daughter, “You better go hit her.” “She did it with intention. A mother inciting violence by telling her daughter go and attack my child,” Ham said.
NBCLA reached out to the tournament organizers at the Antelope Valley Athletic Club but got no response. According to the coach for the SoCal Blaze, the teenager who threw the punch is from LA. She was ejected from the gym. The coach says he ended the game.
NBCLA is not identifying the teen as she is underage. Lauryn Ham’s mother says her daughter’s love of basketball started in second grade. She went on to play in high school, then took her hoop skills as a guard into club play. She says what happened on the court was diagnosed as a concussion.
She is home and recovering. An attorney for the other 14-year old girl’s family told NBCLA: “It’s a very unfortunate incident involving two young minor girls. We are doing our best to investigate everything and anything that happened. Once we acquire all the necessary information we will make a statement.”
