Anthony Knox Jr. is suing after a wild brawl at the NJ District 25 Wrestling Tournament at Collingswood High School on Saturday led to his disqualification — and effectively ended his high school wrestling career.
A lawsuit was filed on behalf of the three-time New Jersey high school state wrestling champion against the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association, the governing body of high school sports in the Garden State that banned the teen wrestler for his alleged role in the fight.
Knox said Wednesday that he rushed into the crowd after seeing his dad in the middle of a group hostile group of opposing parents, a decision that led to Knox being disqualified from competing for a fourth state title.
“I saw my family being surrounded,” Knox Jr. said, according to ABC7. “And I’ve always lived by the motto that family is over everything.”
Video from Saturday’s brawl showed a wild scene that erupted toward the end of the tournament in the stands.
The family claimed that the fight had been the result of opposing fans shouting remarks toward the team and the Knox family.
“I saw a bunch of grown men yelling racial slurs at kids that I’ve been training since they were 6 years old, cursing at my son, cursing at my wife,” the father of Knox Jr., Anthony, told CBS New York on Wednesday. “As a man, I walked over, walked up into the stands, and asked the guy to stop. At that point, I was assaulted. Never threw a punch. Never hurt anybody. Never ran up there like a bat out of hell, just throwing punches at people. None of that happened. I got pushed down the bleachers. I could have gotten seriously injured. Then I got surrounded by about 10 other families.”
Debra, the mother of Knox Jr., said that the situation continued to get “worse and worse” as the day went on and said that “nobody stepped in” to try to stop the situation from escalating before the fight broke out.
Video posted on social media does allege to show Knox Jr. becoming physically involved in the melee and purported to show Knox Jr. and his father being taken away in handcuffs by uniformed officers.
A hearing will take place on Thursday morning over Zoom in Mercer County Superior Court, NJ.com reported.
“We appear before the Court tomorrow and hope to obtain that which was denied by NJSIAA: due process and fundamental fairness,” Patrick Jennings, the lawyer representing Knox Jr., told The Post in a statement.
In the complaint, viewed by The Post, it’s alleged that the “chaos” was the product of unruly parents not related to Knox and claimed that Collingswood High School failed to provide a “safe space” for the tournament to take place in.
It also took issue with the investigation into the incident, which had been conducted by NJSIAA Executive Director Colleen Maguire.
“Her ‘investigation’ consisted of materials that were not provided to Mr. Knox at any point in time. Mr. Knox’s participation in the tournament cannot be taken away without notice and an opportunity to be heard consistent with the United States Constitution and New Jersey Constitution. Mr. Knox denies that he violated any NJSIAA Rule of Regulation during the District 25 Wrestling Tournament. As a result of the Disqualification Notice, Mr. Knox has suffered damages and irreparable harm,” the complaint read.
The suit is seeking an injunction of Knox Jr.’s disqualification so that he could continue to compete in the NJSIAA wrestling tournament.
An NJSIAA spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.
Maguire said in a statement announcing the decision called it one that she did not make “lightly” and she said that she was “aware of the consequences to the student-athlete. He is a senior and this disqualification effectively ends his high school career.”
Knox Jr. attends St. John Vianney Prep School and is slated to wrestle for Cornell University in the fall.
Cornell coach Mike Grey told NJ.com that he had spoken with Knox Jr. about the incident and that he won’t lose his spot on the team over the incident.
Grey described the conversation as “tough” but didn’t go into too much further detail.
“I prefer to keep that conversation between us. It’s not about me, it’s about the kids and trying to do whatever I can to help them. There’s not much more I can say other than it’s a tough situation,” he said.