A furious mom has hit out after a 14 year-old girl said to be the daughter of a former NBA star was filmed sucker punching her 15 year-old daughter during a school basketball match.
The shocking video, filmed in LA on Sunday, shows a player, whose identity has not publicly confirmed, missing her three-point shot before falling on the court.
She did so while being guarded by 15-year-old Lauryn Ham, who also falls on the court after being tripped by her attacker.
Both girls then get up and while they walk down the court, the 14 year-old girl catches Lauryn by surprise. She was filmed swinging a hard punch into Lauryn’s chin and throat. Lauryn was knocked out and tumbled to the floor, with the force of the blow causing her to suffer a concussion.
The 15-year-old’s mother, Alice, took to Instagram to offer details on the incident. Alice Ham wasn’t there for the attack, but says the attacker’s mom had told her child to ‘go and hit’ her daughter moments before the attack took place.
‘THIS… this right here makes me SICK to my stomach. This happened to MY DAUGHTER at her game yesterday. There is absolutely no place for something like this in basketball, I don’t care how famous you are!!’ Alice Ham posted on her Instagram account @hammyalice.
‘This mom told her daughter to “go and hit her” and my kid gets an unprovoked sucker punch. I’m sorry but it’s everything that’s wrong with youth sports. The girl and her mom showed absolutely no remorse and offered no apology. Youth sports needs to change.’
Video captured during a youth basketball game in Garden Grove, California, shows 15-year-old girl Lauryn Ham getting suckerpunched in the face by a fellow player, believed to be the daughter of a former NBA player, on Sunday
Ever since the incident, Alice has said that her daughter has been so concussed that she has not been able to return to school or focus on anything. She has been mostly staying in a dark room and just trying to rest.
‘Of course I was in total shock,’ Ham told ABC7 New York. ‘Just couldn’t believe that could happen to my child.’
‘You always see things on video and you never think it could happen to you. To actually see it and know that was my kid just hurt me so bad.’
The incident happened on Sunday during a girls youth basketball league game at The Map Sports Facility, 35 miles outside of Los Angeles.
Alice said the incident happen while she was watching her other children play. When she went to check on her daughter, Lauryn had a bag of ice and needed help to get her to the car.
Alice believes the other player would have never attacked her daughter, had her mother not provoked her to do so, as seen in the captured footage.
‘I can hear pretty clearly the mom (in the video). I know it’s the mom because the witnesses at the site told me,’ Alice said. ‘It’s pretty clear that she tells her daughter you have to hit her for that. What ‘that’ is, I don’t know. I don’t know what the mom thinks she saw.’
Alice Ham (right) has filed a police report against the girl and her mother, who were ejected from the tournament, after her 15-year-old daughter Lauryn (left) was left severely concussed
The attack has sparked widespread condemnation online, with many viewers branding it the latest example of anti-Asian violence, although there’s been no official suggestion the attack was a racist one.
Alice has filed report with local law enforcement but she has yet to hear back on updates on the status of the investigation.
‘I want the daughter and the mom held accountable,’ she said. ‘Because this type of behavior is reprehensible and cannot happen in youth sports.’
‘It can’t happen outside of youth sports. If this was taken out of the context and it happens on the street, it rises to the level of assault and battery. This is exactly what it is. The mom incites violence upon my child. And that is never OK. I want the mom to be held accountable for her actions.’
DailyMail.com has contacted a woman named online as the attacker’s mother for further comment.
Attorney Brett Greenfield, who spoke to ABC 7 on behalf of the family of the teen girl who threw the punch, released a statement regarding the assault.
‘My client and her family are deeply and sincerely remorseful. This is a unfortunate incident involving a very hard working and promising student athlete. We must keep some perspective and keep in mind that this is a young minor who has made a mistake.’
‘The comments on social media in response to this incident are a cause of great concern for both the minor and her family. We would respectfully request that she be given the benefit of the doubt and that her privacy be respected given her young age.’
