Fan violence has already begun to plague the NFL just a week into the 2024 season, when the Las Vegas Raiders’ trip to SoFi Stadium left fans bloodied and unconscious.
The Los Angeles Chargers opened their season at home in an AFC West divisional matchup against the Raiders on Sunday, but brutal tackles were already being made before players even stepped onto the field.
A shockingly violent mass brawl broke out between groups of rival fans outside the Los Angeles stadium before the start of the Week 1 game.
Two Raiders fans were caught on camera fighting with a man wearing a Rams jersey, but the fans’ loyalty seemed to be of no value. One of the Las Vegas fans, wearing a jersey with Crosby’s No. 99, was even seen throwing a few punches at his fellow fan.
He and the Rams fan managed to drag the man, who was wearing a jersey with Deablo’s number 5, to the ground, where they began kicking and punching him in brutal and disgusting scenes.
WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
A surprisingly violent mass brawl broke out Sunday between Raiders and Chargers fans.
A man was left bloodied and unconscious while a woman (left) was body slammed.
After they were finally dragged away, the man could be seen lying on the dusty ground, apparently unconscious and with blood running down his face.
A woman wearing a strapless black top lunged at her Raiders attacker, dragging him backward toward metal bollards as she attempted to land a couple of blows to his side.
However, the fan quickly became a victim when the man surprisingly shook her as they wrestled on the ground before throwing her body to the ground.
As the brunette woman managed to get to her feet, two men were seen checking on the unconscious Las Vegas fan, who was still lying on the ground, with one of them holding her wrist and checking her pulse.
The sickening and violent scenes mark a continuation of the epidemic that swept the NFL last season.
Fan violence spiraled out of control at NFL games throughout the stadium last year, with Raiders and Chargers fans even coming to blows at SoFi Stadium several times last October.
In the first of those confrontations, a Raiders fan was punched several times before being thrown down a flight of stairs by a Chargers opponent in a shocking clip that went viral on social media.
Images of two other fights from the game circulated online, including an ugly brawl between two female Raiders fans.
Last year, a nasty fight broke out between two female Raiders fans at SoFi Stadium.
One fan even passed away in September 2023 after a fight at a New England Patriots game.
Patriots fan Dale Mooney, 53, collapsed and died after being struck by a Dolphins fan at Gillette Stadium.
Disturbing footage obtained by NBC10 showed the father of two and former Patriots ticket holder, who was wearing Jones’ No. 10 jersey, being punched by a Dolphins fan.
The punch found its mark and, according to eyewitnesses, Mooney fell to the ground moments later during the huge fight. He was then rushed to a nearby hospital before being pronounced dead.
However, an autopsy concluded that Mooney did not die directly from the blow by Dolphins fans and may have succumbed to an undisclosed “medical issue.”
The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office said an autopsy identified a medical problem that may have contributed to her death.
Prosecutor Michael Morrissey confirmed the problem was a possible contributor to her death, but that the case would require further evidence.
Dale Mooney, 53, died after being struck by a Miami Dolphins fan at Gillette Stadium
The Giants, 49ers, Bengals, Commanders, Rams, Broncos, Ravens and Seahawks also saw ugly scenes, in the stands or around the stadium, go viral last year.
A 2023 survey found that nearly 40 percent of NFL fans have witnessed criminal acts in or around an NFL stadium; about one in 14 has been a victim. Nowhere else have fans seen more disorder (63 percent) than at Lincoln Financial Field, home of the Philadelphia Eagles. The most common crime witnessed? Physical violence.
Meanwhile, less than two percent of Colts fans said they are comfortable letting their children go to Lucas Oil Stadium alone. Among all 32 teams, that figure was 77 percent.
Nearly three-quarters of female Lions fans (74 percent) admitted they wouldn’t feel comfortable alone at Ford Field; leaguewide, that figure was 45 percent. And yet perhaps the most striking feature of this surge in violence is the number of women who are perpetrating the violence.
