Cowboys fans fight each other during season-opening loss to the Giants
Playing football is violent by nature. Watching it at AT&T Stadium shouldn’t be.
Yet during Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys season-opener against the New York Giants, an ugly brawl among fans, men and women, and most wearing Cowboys jerseys, broke out on one of the party plazas that extend behind each end zone.
A fan posted on Facebook a video of the fracas in the standing-room-only area, but later deleted it. The video was also posted on YouTube before being removed.
The video lasts more than three minutes. Security and event staff aren’t seen in the video until after the two-minute mark. Once stadium personnel calmed the situation, violence quickly reignited with fans throwing punches and kicking other fans.
Beer cans were visible everywhere.
“Officers arrived at the end of the fight, and security personnel with the Dallas Cowboys separated them and told them to leave,” Arlington police spokesman Lt. Chris Cook said. “There was no victim that came forward or wanted to prosecute. During Sunday’s game we responded to a few fights, which is not unusual. There is no offense report since no one wanted to file a report with us.”
Next month will mark the one-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of Cowboys fan Richard Sells in a stadium parking lot after a game against the New England Patriots. Marvin Rodriguez was arrested at the scene after shooting Sells in the neck. He was indicted on charges of murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and is awaiting trial.
According to reports, Rodriguez was goaded by fans to pull the trigger. Prior to shooting Sells, Rodriguez held a gun to the head of another man before letting him go.
Brawls involving fans inside stadiums and in parking lots are not new. During the Cowboys’ preseason game against the Los Angeles Rams, the franchise’s first game played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum since it moved back from St. Louis, several fights broke out in the stands.
Cook said the level of violence at AT&T Stadium is not increasing.
“We work closely with the NFL, Cowboys organization and venue to ensure fan safety,” Cook said. “AT&T Stadium is one of the safest venues in the country. Our fans are also some of the best and genuinely support either teams and practice good sportsmanship during events.”
The Cowboys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Jeff Caplan: 817-390-7705, @Jeff_Caplan
This story was originally published September 14, 2016 at 11:21 AM with the headline "Cowboys fans fight each other during season-opening loss to the Giants."