NFL stadiums have been the site for a number of disturbing incidents of fan violence during the 2014-15 season, fights whose ends have culminated in circumstances as dire as brain damage.
However, American football isn't the only sport suffering from the antics of its overzealous and occasionally sadistic supporters. Today, a 43-year-old fan of the Spanish soccer club Deportivo La Coruña was pronounced clinically dead after being found in the Manzanares river as a result of a massive brawl; the fight broke out between hundreds of rival fans prior to the team's match against Atlético Madrid.
When his body was recovered, the man was thought to have died from a combination of cardiac arrest, hypothermia, and head injuries. After being taken to the hospital, however, the man is now reported to be in critical condition. Despite the reported role that fans played in the man's injuries, Atlético's team president Enrique was quick to distance his club from the consequences of the fight:
“I want to say that this has nothing to do with football,” he said. “These are radical groups who meet up and these are the consequences. I repeat that neither Atlético nor Deportivo have anything to do with these incidents, they are organized by radical groups who have their histories and their accounts to settle.”
Regardless of who should bear the majority of the blame, something needs to be done to put a stop to the mayhem. Who in their right mind is throwing a man into a river because of a sports team? Let's take a step back and get some perspective, everyone.
[via The Guardian]
