If this wasn't a rivalry game already, it sure is now.

Last week Harker Heights and Copperas Cove were playing basketball. The two schools are located in the Killeen area of Texas. During the game a fight broke out between some of the players. The fight actually ended up going off of the court and into the hallway.

It looks like a shove was what started this whole thing out. Both school districts are not taking this fight lightly. Ten people were arrested after this whole thing blew up. Seven of those ten were players on the team. Copperas Cove Police issued misdemeanor charges of riot participation, three of those were juveniles.

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“I think this Copperas Cove school district is taking this to an extreme and they’re making examples out of these children because of the incident they had previously the school year,” one parent said.

Don't get me wrong, I think these boys need to face some sort of punishment. However, they shouldn't have criminal charges on their records for this. Fights happen during sporting events and when you see one of your teammates shoved, the rest of team is going to defend their teammate.

It looks like things escalated so quickly that the referees and coaches didn't act quick enough to break this up. A riot participation charge seems like a bit much to give these kids. Suspend them for some games, but don't give them a criminal record for a high school basketball game.

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