High School Students Beaten for 'Tebowing'
Two South Carolina students were beaten after “Tebowing” at a high school basketball game.
The pair was beaten in the parking lot of a Charlotte, S.C. high school after Wando High School beat rival West Ashley High School by 20 points.
The two students, who knelt in the prayer-like pose in celebration, were punched and kicked repeatedly as they left the game, according to reports. One student began vomiting after being kicked repeatedly in the stomach.
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However, neither student required hospitalization, according The Post And Courier.
Wando High School staff helped the pair after the beating outside the game.
The incident occurred despite increased security at the game, which was in place after violent acts between fans as the two teams played last year.
“I don't know why it rears its head during these basketball games," West Ashley High School Athletic Director Richard Luden said. "I felt we did everything on our end of it.”
Seven Charleston Police Officers and more than a dozen school officials were inside the gymnasium for the game.
The increased security was a result of previous incidents.
An incident in 2010 resulted in a parent of a Wando High School student being charged after punching a West Ashley High School teacher.
The fight was caught on the school’s surveillance cameras. Though the footage is not being released because it involves minors, police are reviewing it to ensure the officers acted according to policy.
"Officers did break up a fight after the basketball game," Charles Francis, a police spokesman, said. "The (school resource) officer reiterated to me that an officer wouldn't stand by and not do anything if they saw someone being assaulted."
The two boys beaten after the game suffered scrapes, bruises and bumps, according to reports.
"They were scared for their lives," said Lara Isaac, one of the boys’ mother. "No one was manning the exits to make sure this wouldn't happen. The kids who did this apparently knew that."
It is unclear what charges could be filed and if the incident will change police procedure for future games between the rivals.
