An assistant boys’ basketball coach for Norristown High School is recovering after he says he was hit in the head with a brick after a heated game at Cheltenham High School Friday night.
Greg Bates told NBC10’s Katy Zachry things got heated as the team entered the locker room shortly after defeating the Cheltenham Panthers.
“I said listen, tell the kids to get dressed quickly, get them on the bus because it looks like there might be trouble,” said Bates.
Bates says there were strong words between the two teams during the entire game and when his players walked outside to board the bus, there were about a hundred Cheltenham supporters waiting for his team.
“You could hear fights breaking out, two or three fights going on at one time,” said Bates. “One of our players was on the ground being stomped by five or six guys, so I tried to pull guys off of him.”
That’s when Bates says he was hit in the forehead with a brick.
“One of the kids came off from the left - someone said he had a brick in his hand - and hits me,” said Bates. “I just turned and looked at him after he did it because I was shocked. This kid had to know I was an adult and that I was a coach from the team.”
Bates suffered a serious gash on his head that required stitches. He says he did receive an apology from Cheltenham’s Athletic Director Scott Layer.
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Layer says that the district is investigating the melee and plans to take appropriate action.
