NYPD-FDNY charity football game turns into bloody brawl
FOOTBALL FIGHT: game between city's finest and bravest ends with fists. (📹: @AZPNYC) story: @NBCNewYork #11p pic.twitter.com/927PfTaN9k
— Ray Villeda (@RayVilleda) May 24, 2016
A charity football game between members of the New York City Fire and Police Departments turned ugly Monday, following a heated on-field exchange.
"I think one of the FDNY guys exchanged words with the NYPD player and then from there, I couldn't see what was happening, I just saw the crowds come around the player," Angel Zayas, a freelance photographer who was filming the game on the sidelines, told Ray Villeda of NBC 4 in New York. "I heard it happening before I saw it happening."
Zayas said one of the firefighters emerged from the fight with blood dripping down the side of his face.
The NYPD, who won the game 29-13, released a statement afterwards:
"Football is a competitive sport, whether it is the NFL Super Bowl or the annual NYPD-FDNY challenge. It is part of the spirit of the sport, but it all ends on the field."
This isn't the first time the two departments have clashed. Last year, a brawl erupted during a hockey game at Nassau Coliseum.