It was the most violent day ever on N.J. sports fields. Are we doing anything about it?

A violent brawl between high school football teams that spilled off the field and into streets surrounding the stadium.

A post-game melee in the handshake line that led to a high school soccer star charging after a news photographer and grabbing him by the throat.

An argument among parents at a youth football game over a cowbell — yes, a cowbell — that turned physical and led to police being called.

The spate of ugly incidents exploded in rapid succession across New Jersey sports fields on a single day last Saturday, adding up to a display of unruly behavior among athletes and spectators that sickened top athletic officials and state lawmakers alike. And while toxic conduct in the athletic realm is nothing new, the sheer number of incidents over one autumn day is ringing alarm bells that no form of rules or regulations have managed to slow the steady descent to new lows at sporting events.

“We’re just in a bit of a hot mess right now,” Westfield High athletic director Jim DeSarno said. “It could be a lot of things, but we have to find out what’s riling people up more than it has in the past. You throw all these little sparks into the fire of just craziness.”

The conduct has led several sports experts to call for an overhaul of the current rule system or new punitive measures to deter the bad behavior. Current rules and regulations designed to foster good behavior at sporting events, they said, clearly have failed or not gone far enough to dissuade the steady flow of fights, melees and confrontations.

“In my view, if we didn’t allow it, it would stop,” said Linda Flanagan, a former Kent Place cross-country coach and author who studies mania in kids’ sports. “But we do allow it. Fans erupt and go crazy because they can. Because we permit it.”

Just six months ago, the spotlight on toxic behavior at New Jersey sporting events burned perhaps brighter than ever before, after St. John Vianney wrestling star Anthony Knox and his father, Anthony Knox Sr., charged into the bleachers during a match and threw punches. Both were led from the gymnasium in handcuffs and charged with simple assault for their roles in a brawl that erupted Feb. 22 during a district wrestling tournament.

The disturbing incident drew rebukes from far and wide.

Then came last Saturday.

First, a post-game fight between two of the state’s top high school soccer powerhouses devolved into violent chaos, with one of New Jersey’s top-ranked players charging after a photographer who was taking pictures of the melee and grabbing his throat.

Then, two Newark high schools, Weequahic and West Side, were involved in a benches-clearing brawl that resulted in numerous ejections and both teams to be disqualified from the state playoffs. Several fans also stormed the field, while fights broke out in the stands and even on Chancellor Avenue outside the stadium gates, according to Newark police.

The final incident unfolded in the bleachers of a youth football game in Little Ferry, when police were called to the scene after an argument over the use of a cowbell led to adults getting physical, according to police. The people involved in the altercation were asked to leave the stadium, and no arrests were made.

Just one of those incidents during a sports season would warrant concern. But these happened over the very same day.

“Those examples highlight just how quickly things can spiral out of control when emotions run high,” Old Bridge High athletic director Daniel DiMino said. “The focus has shifted too much toward wins, highlights and personal recognition rather than the lessons and enjoyment that sports are supposed to bring. When that perspective is lost, behavior in the stands and on the field can turn negative fast.”

Those incidents played out against the backdrop of last weekend’s golf Ryder Cup, where fan behavior at Bethpage Black in New York allegedly crossed the line into abuse, with people hurling insults, shouting vulgar language, throwing beer bottles and engaging in disruptive acts like squeaking toy rubber ducks during backswings.

From the pro level all the way down to little league, toxic behavior was a constant.

“It’s like a race to the bottom,” Flanagan said. “There should be public shaming of the behavior. We shouldn’t just shrug and say, ‘This is just the way it is.’ It doesn’t have to be this way.”

‘A privilege to watch’

Bad behavior at New Jersey sports venues is nothing new.

Just three years ago, a 72-year-old New Jersey youth baseball umpire was brutally attacked by a coach and left with a broken jaw during a game in Branchburg. The next year saw an unprecedented explosion of on-court violence in high school basketball that led to the disqualification of 11 basketball teams from the state tournament for violating state athletic association rules. Those incidents included the Camden boys basketball team, ranked No. 2 in New Jersey and led by top national recruit D.J. Wagner, getting involved in an ugly benches-clearing brawl against rival Camden Eastside.

As with most outbursts of violence, state athletic officials and lawmakers seized the moment to renew calls for stricter penalties and more accountability. But it’s done little to quell the steady flow of ejections, brawls and general turmoil, experts said.

In 2024, Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn, R-Monmouth, introduced the Penalty Box Act, which aims to address adults behaving violently and eliminate toxic environments at youth sporting events by upgrading penalties for assaults of sports officials, coaches or staff. Flynn’s proposal resulted in a companion bill from Sen. John McKeon, D-Essex. But the legislation stalled earlier this year after advancing through legislative committees.

“The governor’s office has indicated they’re supportive of the concept, so hopefully it’s something we get through later this year,” Flynn said. “Now, especially with these sad additional examples, I’m hopeful that’s the case.’’

But even that potential legislation would not eliminate the kinds of brawls and altercations that took place last week — because those melees primarily occurred between athletes.

“There’s going to be scrums on the field — it’s part of the game,” said Sen. Paul Sarlo, D-Bergen. “However, when it gets out of control, it’s zero tolerance. School districts are doing the best they can to provide as much security as they can with the resources they have. We have to work collectively to lower the temperature.”

In 2023, Park Ridge athletic director Chris Brown and New Milford athletic director Joe Ricciardelli introduced a proposal to the state athletic association that would allow school administrators to address unruly behavior on the spot. Their call for action led the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association to adopt a spectator code of conduct to combat increasingly rowdy behavior from fans.

“Almost every school in North Jersey had some sort of sign that would highlight good sportsmanship, but this gave athletic directors some teeth to address it immediately on site,” Brown said. “Before their kid registers with their school team every season, parents are required to sign a form that stipulates what won’t be tolerated. It’s really pretty much listed, ‘Hey, you get ejected, you’re going to be sent out of the arena and then you’re going to have to sit out for a couple games.’”

Brown added, “It’s a privilege to come watch high school sports, and if you can’t behave when you’re there, you’re not going to be allowed to do it.”

Those measures, while well intentioned, have done little to deter situations like the ones last weekend across New Jersey.

“People lose their minds,” DeSarno said. “Just like the things we saw last week, the behavior is getting worse.”

‘Hostility before the game starts’

Today’s youth and high school sports climate is changing at rapid pace.

Athletes can earn lucrative Name, Image and Likeness deals, sometimes even before high school.

“A big factor for these high school kids is that there is so much pressure on them — from outsiders and the infusion of NIL money,” Sarlo said.

Meanwhile, the pursuit of college scholarships, a rise in sport specialization and an emphasis on year-round training has overtaken the lives of many young athletes and exploded into a multi-million-dollar industry, according to industry experts.

“There’s an investment in these kids at an early age,” said Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly, a former high school football coach. “Pick soccer. These kids are identified as 5 or 6-year-olds as ‘The Next.’ Now they’re living under the pressure of being the next great thing. It’s unfair.”

Social media also has fueled discourse at sporting events, Wimberly said. Before big games even happen, fans and sometimes coaches and athletes jaw back and forth on various platforms, fanning flames before and during games.

“It creates hostility before the game even starts,” Wimberly said. “Most programs will not allow their players to go online and attack their opponents. But fans have no parameters. They can say what they want.”

Whatever the exact reason for the ongoing bad behavior, Wimberly and others said more needs to be done. St. Peter’s Prep athletic director Rich Hansen suggested banning post-game handshake lines, where tensions remain high and can lead to skirmishes, as it did last Saturday between his school’s soccer team and St. Benedict’s.

Others such as Flanagan are advocating for even stricter state laws, such as permanent bans or holding high school games without fans. Or she suggests high schools can follow the lead of youth soccer organizations in Florida two decades ago by implementing “Silent Saturday,” — a one-day requirement in which parents and spectators are not allowed to talk during the game.

“You can clap, but you can’t tell your kid how to play and scream at the ref and boo when the other team is taking free throws,” Flanagan said. “You have to be quiet. You just can’t scream obnoxious things.’’

Then there’s the suggestion by John O’Sullivan, a New York native who coached soccer across all levels before starting “Changing the Game Project,” which aims to eliminate the win-at-all-costs model of youth sports.

“We need to get back to making the games fun again,” O’Sullivan said.

He recalled starting the project in 2012 with the hope that it would make parents rethink how they’re behaving at games.

“I thought maybe we could have a big, systemic change,” O’Sullivan said.

He’s not nearly as optimistic these days.

“I think it’s pretty hard right now,” O’Sullivan said. “But I do think families, coaches and their teams can do it differently. And schools can just be like, ‘Look, we’re not going to be the same as some of the others. This matters to us and it’s a privilege to play sports here — it’s not a right.’”