NFL Game Turns Deadly When Patriots and Dolphins Fans Clash in Stands
The New England Patriots lost much more than a game on Sunday night when the team went down at home to the AFC East rival Miami Dolphins.
They also lost a fan who died in the stands as a result of a medical episode following a scuffle with a Dolphins fan, according to a WJAR-TV in Providence, Rhode Island.
During a physical game that Miami ultimately won 24-17 in front of the entire country on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” a 53-year-old man died following a physical confrontation at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
WJAR reported that Dale Mooney of Newmarket, New Hampshire, went unconscious after he was punched during a fight between Patriots and Dolphins fans.
He was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, the report said.
It isn’t clear what sparked the fight, but Mooney was wearing a Patriots jersey when he was injured.
WARNING: The following video contains violence that some viewers may find disturbing.
This is awful: A video was revealed that a 53-year old #Patriots fan hit his head after getting punched by a #Dolphins fan on Sunday Night’s game.
The fan, Dale Mooney, lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital, where he passed.
This is a tragedy, hopefully these fights… https://t.co/szUMEiz6hX pic.twitter.com/BhDZqf63k8
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 19, 2023
Keith Noonan, who was at the game and witnessed the altercation, spoke to WJAR about what happened.
“We looked up and we just saw a bunch of people standing around in an area in there … a lot of people that were standing around, were filming with their phones,” Noonan said.
The NFL fan added, “No sport is worth, you know, getting physical with anybody.”
Another fan, Devyn Kirwin, told WJAR he was enjoying his first Patriots game when he witnessed the chaotic scene.
“I was shocked. Everyone in that section had to get moved,” Kirwin said.
“It happened right behind me and there wasn’t much I could do about it,” he added.
A third witness, Joey Kilmartin, told WFXT-TV in Boston, “It looked like people grabbing and pulling at each other at first. At some point … the guy in the Dolphins jersey punched the victim twice in the face, and that’s when the victim fell into his seat unconsciousness.”
Reporter Drew Karedes with that station shared photos of Dale Mooney and his wife, Lisa, on Facebook.
Lisa Mooney told WFXT her husband was a good father and he never threw a punch during Sunday’s altercation.
As of Tuesday, the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office had not filed any charges in the incident.
According to WFXT, investigators were waiting on the medical examiner’s findings to determine if the confrontation played a role in Mooney’s death.
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