West Charlotte, North Meck and CMS investigate postgame basketball altercation

West Charlotte High School, North Mecklenburg and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools police department are investigating an ugly postgame incident that occurred after a high school basketball game Thursday night.

North Mecklenburg, No. 7 in The Observer’s Sweet 16 poll, played a critical rivalry game at No. 4 West Charlotte. The game was sold out with fans 3-4 deep on the baselines.

Those fans included former Carolina Panthers coach Steve Wilks, a West Charlotte grad, and Duke men’s basketball star Isaiah Evans, who recently graduated from North Mecklenburg.

North Mecklenburg won the game, 69-64, which gave the Vikings sole possession of first place in the conference, one game ahead of West Charlotte. But afterward, two Vikings players tried to dunk on the West Charlotte goal well after the final buzzer sounded as fans, security and media were coming onto the court.

Then, during the handshake line, an altercation appeared to start between one West Charlotte player and one North Mecklenburg player that led to some pushing and shoving among players from both teams that spilled over to the other side of the court.

Later, a West Charlotte player shoved North Mecklenburg assistant coach Clark Camp to the ground, an incident that was caught by several people on camera and posted to various social media accounts.

In response to an Observer inquiry, CMS responded with a note that it was sending to West Charlotte High families from assistant communicators officer Tom Miner. The entirety of that note is below:

West Charlotte High School families,

I want to make you aware of an incident that occurred last night during the West Charlotte vs. North Mecklenburg High School basketball game. Following the game, an altercation involving several students and adults took place on the basketball court. CMSPD is actively investigating the situation in collaboration with both schools.

Please know that the safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement as they complete their investigation.

We ask that you speak with your child(ren) and remind them that disruptive behavior is unacceptable. All actions will be addressed in alignment with CMS Student Code of Conduct expectations.

While confidentiality laws prevent us from sharing specific disciplinary outcomes, please know that this type of behavior is not tolerated at our school or in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

I wanted to share this information in case your student(s) have questions about what they saw or heard. Thank you for your understanding and support as we work to maintain a safe and secure environment for all.