Threats of violence force East Bay high school football games to be postponed, stopped

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- There were more problems this weekend with high school football games in the East Bay. One was postponed and another was abruptly stopped in the second half Friday night. Both involved fights or threats of violence.

No spectators were allowed at Berkeley High School Saturday. Fans had to peer through a fence around the stadium to watch the varsity game against Tennyson that had been postponed. A fight and ensuing threats on social media led the school to cancel the game under Friday night lights and instead play mid day Saturday with no fans around.

The team doctor said he was in his car ready to go to the game Friday when he got an email about the postponement. Parents said with the kids' safety in mind, they were glad the school erred on the side of caution. A former Berkeley High School football player said the atmosphere of high school football was off because it was strange to not have fans at the game.

Also on Friday night, Skyline High School was playing at Oakland Tech when the game was halted in the third quarter due of fighting outside the stadium. Oakland and Berkeley school officials did not respond to requests for comment.

Last week the Kennedy-Richmond High School game played at El Cerrito High School was stopped because of fights in the stands and outside the stadium. The coaches and players from all of the schools are focused on playing football.

Berkeley assistant coach Abdullah Sabir says he told the team, "We can control what we can control. I don't know what happened but we did a good job adjusting and we look forward to playing Piedmont on Friday."