Mother of teen viciously punched at basketball game calls for attacker’s mother to be arrested

November 11, 2021

A California mother is seeking justice after watching her 15-year-old daughter get violently punched at a local basketball tournament on Sunday afternoon.

What happened: The incident, which was caught on video, occurred during a game between SoCal Blaze and Dream Academy at the MAP Sports Facility in Garden Grove. The victim, Lauryn Ham, plays for SoCal Blaze and was reportedly attacked in the last four minutes of the game.

SoCal Blaze was winning by 20 points when someone from the rival team took a swing at Lauryn, her mother Alice Ham told NextShark. Prior to the attack, the player in question — who is also a minor — shot a three-pointer and fell backwards onto Lauryn.
When both players got up and walked to the other side of the court, the unidentified child’s mother allegedly told her, “You better hit her.” The player in question then sucker-punched Lauryn, as seen in the now-viral video.
The game was reportedly stopped after Lauryn fell down, and her coach and a medical attendant checked on her. Afterward, her coach reported the incident to the tournament director. The attacker and her mother were then forced to leave the venue.

The aftermath: Lauryn, who was in shock, was taken to an urgent care facility for immediate medical attention, Alice told NextShark. The family soon filed a police report.

“Lauryn is healing slowly day by day. However, the full extent of her injuries are still unknown and we seek to follow up with additional care,” said Alice, who was absent during the game but learned of the incident from other parents.
Alice identified the mother of her daughter’s attacker as Tyra Hunt, the wife of former NBA basketball player Corey Benjamin. She believes both mother and daughter should be held accountable for their actions. “I don’t believe the child should be allowed to play basketball for the foreseeable future until she can get help. The mother should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for inciting violence,” she said.
Alice described Hunt ordering her daughter to attack Lauryn as “reprehensible.”
“This was an atrocious act,” Alice said. “Any reasonable person who sees this video clip inherently knows they are seeing something wrong. This intentional assault on my daughter should never be condoned or tolerated in basketball or any other type of youth sports.”

Lauryn Ham. Image via Alice Ham for NextShark

Lauryn started playing basketball in the second grade at a local league called SouthEast Youth Organization, which was made up of teams that were predominantly Asian American. “She had such a great experience that in 4th grade, she decided to take basketball a little more seriously and joined a local club called OC Rhythm,” Alice said.
Police are now gathering evidence and taking statements from all involved parties, according to Alice. She is waiting to hear back once the full report is complete.

Featured Images via Alice Ham for NextShark

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