The Vigor High School basketball team was in the middle of a Cinderella run.
The Wolves were up and down throughout the year, going 9-14 before entering the Alabama Class 4A Boys Basketball State Tournament. Then, things clicked.
The Prichard, Alabama squad won three straight to advance to the state semifinals against the Anniston Bulldogs.
Anniston was pulling away with 33 seconds left when the magical run came to an abrupt end.
Brawl Breaks Out at Alabama HS Basketball Game
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Anniston forward Malcolm Carlisle caught the ball beyond the arc above the right elbow.
Vigor forward Devin Caldwell got a little carried away in trying to stop the clock. He gave Carlisle a high forearm shimmy that sent him hard to the ground.
Carlisle bounced up to confront Caldwell. The benches cleared and coaches restrained their players.
The main event happened in the stands of Bill Harris Arena.
An Anniston parent allegedly threw a water bottle into the crowd. A shouting match ensued, and opposing fans started throwing punches
On the outskirts, Rakira Ruffin, the sister of Vigor captain Larry Ruffin, was pulled down by a man and grabbed by the neck. A teacher ran to defend her. The brawl eventually deescalated, but Rakira was suspended from attending home and away games by Vigor's principal.
Shaundrell Ruffin, Larry and Rakira's mother, refutes the punishment.
"Why is she being suspended when she was a victim, she didn't do anything wrong," Ruffin told Mobile, Alabama's WPMI NBC 15.
Larry said he doesn't want to play if his sister can't be there.
"Don't take that away from my child when he is trying to better himself by playing basketball, get scholarships and stuff, then he doesn't have support. His main support - yall suspending her for a whole year," continued Ruffin.
Birmingham Police sent the players to the locker room and separated fans. No arrests were made.
The game was called by officials with Anniston winning by a final score of 53-40. The Bulldogs went on to win the state title against Booker T. Washington.
No one wants to see any game end like this. It a huge damper over an awkward season that was riddled with the coronavirus pandemic.
Let Rakira attend games.
