A handful of players for the Norwalk and Mayfair high school baseball teams will be suspended for one to three games for their actions in a postgame brawl that brought the programs national attention when videos of the incident went viral.
Mayfair High is part of the Bellflower Unified School District, which released a statement Friday afternoon that said the “disturbing post-game incident” had been reviewed by both schools and they were in agreement on the actions that each school would take to address the situation.
CIF-SS assistant commissioner Thom Simmons confirmed Friday afternoon that a total of four players for Mayfair were suspended — one player for three games and three players for one game.
In a statement released by the Norwalk-La Mirada School District, it stated: “Per CIF regulations, three-game suspensions have been issued for players that were involved in any aggressive fighting action. Students involved in the aggression fighting action will also serve school suspensions.”
The district did not reveal how many Norwalk players would be serving suspensions.
All of the suspensions take effect immediately and the players will have to miss CIF-SS playoff games. The regular season has ended and the playoffs begin next week.
The incident took place Wednesday after Norwalk’s 3-2 win at Mayfair High. The schools involved spent Thursday gathering info along with the CIF Southern Section office.
Videos of the incident appear to show one adult coach throwing punches at a player for the other team and a fan coming onto the field and holding a bat as he confronted coaches.
The statement from Bellflower Unified on Friday stated: “Mayfair has conducted a thorough investigation … In our investigation, we have identified student-athletes involved in the incident, per the Blue Book. We participated in conference calls with Norwalk’s Principal, Dr. David O’lea, and/or the Athletic Director, David Snyder. In our final conversation, both schools felt that the investigation and action taken by the other school were appropriate and accurate.”
The statement concluded by stating, “The adults who were also involved in the incident have also been addressed as a personnel issue.”
One of the videos shows the teams lining up for the traditional postgame handshake line. The player leading the line for Norwalk carried a broom and used it to sweep home plate, apparently a reference to Norwalk “sweeping” its three league games against Mayfair this season.
On the video, fans react, yelling at the player for his actions. One fan yells, “put your broom in the dugout. Respect the game.”
The game was played at Mayfair High, and toward the end of the handshake line, a fan is heard yelling “get him.” A few seconds later, a major brawl broke out between the teams and lasted more than a minute.
The video appeared to show an unidentified coach for Mayfair trying to punch a Norwalk player.
Here is more video on Norwalk, Mayfield brawl. Apparently, a Norwalk player brought out a broom in the handshake line after the two game sweep of Mayfair, and the fight broke out shortly after.pic.twitter.com/uAIzPeoiIC https://t.co/h1QGBRTeAr
— Fred J. Robledo 👨🏻💻 (@SGVNSports) April 27, 2023
On the video, some fans scream profanities and derogatory names toward the players and coaches.
On Friday, TMZ reported that the Lakewood Sheriff’s Department was called to the scene Wednesday and that a sheriff’s investigation is underway.
The NLMUSD statement appeared to address the incident with the broom that seemed to spark the brawl.
“NHS does not condone the unsportsmanlike actions of the baseball team,” the district statement said. “The actions do not reflect the culture of the Lancer baseball team nor of NHS.
“To their credit, the players involved in the incident have been forthcoming and have expressed their sincere regret and remorse.”
The district’s statement added: “While this incident has been distressing and has taken away from the success of the team, Norwalk High School holds a high expectation of its student-athletes to respect their opponent and to show sportsmanship before, during, and after contests.”
One or both teams could have been withheld from the playoffs, but that decision had to be made by the schools, not by CIF-SS, which does not have the authority to make that decision in an incident like this one.
Norwalk and Mayfair are two of the top-ranked teams in CIF-SS Division 6, and both are having strong seasons.
Coaches and players for the school have not spoken publicly about the altercation.
