Teen's head stomped during youth basketball game in Alameda
ALAMEDA, Calif. - Sunday night's AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) basketball game between Payton's Place and Tumakbo United at College of Alameda turned ugly when a player stomped on another player's head. The incident was captured on video.
The Amateur Athletic Union is a competitive youth sports club.
In one video, taken by a member of Tumakbo United, player Seth Guingab catches the ball in play, but is knocked to the ground by what appears to be momentum and a Payton's Place player who is also grabbing the other player's jersey. While the boys struggle for the ball, a third player intervenes and stomps Guingab's head onto the court before an adult and a referee intervene.
Guingab's father, Roderick, gave KTVU permission to share this video. The family lives in Sacramento County's Elk Grove. They retained a lawyer who spoke with KCRA on Wednesday about the boy's injuries.
"He was taken to the hospital. He is suffering from a concussion," said attorney Kathleen Alparce. "He has been under medical care and examination." The attorney said Seth is recovering from his injuries, but that no one had reached out directly to the family.
"We're insisting on corrective measures or insisting on the safety of our children to be reevaluated, so situations like this don't happen again," Alparce said. She said Seth is continuing to be monitored and is taking it day by day. "He is under the care of medical providers and his loving parents, as we are hoping for his successful recovery," Alparce said in a statement provided by the family. She added that the family is working with law enforcement and other legal authorities regarding the investigation. Alparce said the family is exploring their options to make sure the youth responsible for injuring their son is held accountable.
On Monday, Payton's Place had this to say on Instagram:
"There is footage circulating of one of our team's games this past weekend. Unfortunately, the footage is not a positive representation of our team and our values. The behavior that was exhibited by our player is not acceptable, and is being taken seriously. We do not condone violence. Our players are expected to conduct themselves with integrity on and off the court. At this time, both teams are working together to resolve this matter."
Alameda Police Department said the police report from this incident identifies two of the children as being 13-years-old. They say they are investigating the incident, but do not have any further information to share since the people involved are juveniles.
Payton's Place followed up on Tuesday to say the player involved is no longer playing for the team. "His behavior was unexpected. We are working to assist in providing him resources to prevent this in the future. Violence has never been a part of our team. On behalf of the Payton's Place Family, we sincerely apologize to the player injured in this incident, his family, and all those impacted."
A player is stomped in the head during an AAU basketball game in Alameda.
From their website: "Payton's Place is a traveling AAU team that drives student athletes to achieve their full potential. The team competes against, "some of the best leagues in the most competitive tournaments throughout the Bay Area."
Payton's Place has several Bay Area locations, including Oakland, Concord, Danville, Dublin, Fremont, Livermore, San Ramon and Tracy.
KTVU has reached out to Tumakbo League for more information about the status of the player who was stomped and to see if and how the teams worked together to come up with a resolution.
Tumakbo United is a Filipino heritage basketball program with a Northern California chapter.
KTVU's Betty Yu and KCRA contributed to this report.