Tensions Flare After Kalamazoo Basketball Game Ends In Chaos

Multiple students have been suspended over a fight that took place over the weekend after a game between Kalamazoo Central and Battle Creek Central.

The game at Battle Creek Central ended with Kalamazoo winning 68 to 52. After the game, when the boys were doing the end-of-the-game handshake, a player from Kalamazoo Central walked from the back of the line and approached the son of Akilah Artis, who claims her son was merely defending himself.

In the video, which you can watch below, you can see her son, not only handshaking the opposing team, but giving pats on the back. From the perspective of the video, it seems like he’s being a good sport. That’s when the altercation happened:

My son was not the aggressor by any means in this altercation, but the parents from Kzoo Central felt differently. The proof is in the video. That young man #33 walked from the back of the line and approached my son. My son#2 went into fight or flight mode. He backed up away from the young man #33. At that moment, #33 could have stopped, but he continued after my son. My son, if anything, is owed an APOLOGY!!!

As she continues, she informs everyone that, apparently, her son has been suspended for defending himself from a fight he was actively trying to avoid:

As for Battle Creek Central and the rule of no contact when it comes to fighting, let me ask you this: If my son had gotten stomped out and been in the hospital, would he have been suspended when he got out of the hospital??? The fact that he is suspended for defending himself is ridiculous!!!!