The family of a teen girl has filed a police complaint after their daughter was sucker-punched during a youth basketball game that left her with a concussion after she fell flat on her face in the middle of the court. Lauryn Ham, 15, was attacked with a wild punch from an opponent that struck her in the chin and throat and knocked her to the floor.
The shocking video of the incident has since gone viral, with the girl's mother furious at the team management. The girl, reportedly, is badly bruised and is still recovering from the brutal punch over the weekend.
Sucker Punched
The incident happened at the second and final game of the fall jamboree tournament at the Map Sports Facility on Sunday. The tournament features boys and girls from the second grade through varsity. Video footage of the incident shows Ham playing when an opponent suddenly blows a cheap punch on her chin.
The incident happened in front of hundreds of spectators. The girl mother was not at the game but has been left in shock after she saw the footage of the brutal attack. "Of course I was in total shock," the victim's mother, Alice Ham, told ABC7. "Just couldn't believe that could happen to my child."
The incident unfolded something like this. Going buy the video, The SoCal Blaze team, which Ham plays for, was up by at least 15 points when a player on the Dream Academy team tried for a 3-point shot but missed.
Moments later, shocking video shows the same player taking a swing at Ham and she is thrown off and falls flat on her face.
Soon after that the referee's whistle can be heard blaring over the footage.
Not in the Spirit of the Game
Ham's family has filed a police complaint and wants justice as she went in concussions immediately after that. She is presently is in concussion protocol, has not been able to attend school since the incident and is resting in the dark, according to her mother.
"You always see things on video and you never think it could happen to you. To actually see it and know that was my kid just hurt me so bad," the dressed mother said.
"The person in question went down the court and shot a 3-pointer, landed, fell backwards into my daughter," Ham said. "As they got up and turned and were walking back down to the other side of the court, her mom says to her, 'You need to hit her for that.' And the child in question sucker-punched my daughter."
"I want the daughter and the mom held accountable. Because this type of behavior is reprehensible and cannot happen in youth sports," said Ham's mother.
"We're very sorry ... we want everybody to feel safe. We want everyone to feel secure," Gary Thomas, CEO of Avac United, the group that hosted the event told KTLA. "This is an environment where kids should have fun and enjoy and be safe."
The family of the girl who threw the punch has retained an attorney. Although still unidentified, the girl reportedly is the daughter of a former NBA player. Lawyer Brett Greenfield, who is representing the family of the teenage girl who threw the punch, issued a statement on their behalf. "My client and her family are deeply and sincerely remorseful. This is an unfortunate incident involving a very hard-working and promising student athlete," he said.
