Angry football fan hurls bottle, knocks out cheer coach, officials say. Dad calls cops
An 18-year-old Utah man faces an aggravated assault charge more than a month after police said he threw a partially full water bottle from a suite following a college football game and hit a cheer coach on the sidelines, knocking her out.
William Gardner of North Salt Lake told police he was upset over the Brigham Young University vs. University of Utah game Nov. 9 when he threw the plastic bottle, and he “was not thinking about” hurting someone, officials said in a court document.
An attorney wasn’t listed for Gardner in court records the morning of Dec. 20.
Officials said Gardner was with family in a suite at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City for the game that saw BYU beat the University of Utah 22-21 with a field goal in the final seconds.
The suite was at the south end zone, officials said.
The cheer coach was unconscious for 10 to 15 seconds after she was hit and later reported neck pain, vision and balance issues, officials said. A cheerleader who rushed to help saw the coach’s eyes roll back in her head, officials said.
According to officials, a witness saw Gardner throw the water bottle and surveillance video captured the toss and the coach being struck.
Gardner’s father later called police and reported that his son was the suspect, officials said.
Police interviewed the 18-year-old, who said he “saw people throwing water bottles and he was so mad that he threw one in the direction of the cheer team,” according to officials.
After seeing a report of the incident, Gardner told police, he “thought to himself, ‘yeah, that was me.’ ”
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 12:32 PM with the headline "Angry football fan hurls bottle, knocks out cheer coach, officials say. Dad calls cops."
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