ODESSA – A brawl broke out between two arena football teams this weekend in Odessa and video of the embarrassing episode has gone viral on social media.
The West Texas Warbirds and Dallas Prime teams went at it with about eight minutes left in the game. Video shows that both coaches and players were involved in the fight which lasted about 10 minutes.
The West Texas Warbirds issued the following statement on their Facebook page:
“What happened last night was embarrassing, regrettable, and inexcusable. Due to the ongoing criminal investigation, we are unable to provide many details. We are fully cooperating with (the) Ector County Sheriff’s Office as well as Odessa Police. We are confident that once details emerge many items will be cleared up.
We can confirm that as of right now, No Warbirds players, coaches, or staff are subjects of the investigation.
To put an end to the current speculation circulating, the person on video swinging the metal chair is not and has never been part of our organization in any capacity.
No matter where fault, blame, or culpability lies, we owe the people of the Permian Basin an apology. You should never be concerned for you safety or your child’s safety at our games. We are taking the appropriate steps to mitigate any possibility of reoccurrence in future seasons by working with the Coliseum and ESCO on improved proactive measures as well as response management.”
Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis said, “The Dallas team got their butt spanked and tempers flared.”.
The Ector County Sheriff’s Office did state that no arrests were made and there were no reports of anyone hurt. It is unclear who started the fight.
As for the individual who swung a chair and hit a player in the head, Warbirds President Lief Kertis said, “In no way, shape, or form is that person associated with the Warbirds, they are not staff, they are not a coach, they are not a player, granted, I want to make that 100 percent clear.”
The Warbirds took it to the Prime, blowing them out 50-6.
“That team (Dallas) hadn’t lost in more than two years, and we handled them pretty good,” Tate Smith, Warbirds Head Coach said.
An investigation into the fight is currently taking place.
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