Player stomped on California teen’s head during basketball game, family says
By Tori Apodaca
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ELK GROVE, California (KOVR) — An Elk Grove family wants justice after their teen was stomped on the head in a youth basketball game in Alameda.
Video from the game between Tumakbo United, a youth organization of Filipinos, and a non-profit Bay Area basketball team Payton’s Place, shows the moments leading up to and during the head stomping.
In the video, you can see the two teens from different teams scuffling for an inbound ball, ending with a player from Payton’s Place appearing to stomp on 13-year-old Seth Guingab’s head.
Seth’s father, Roderick Guingab, shared a photo of his son, Seth, with CBS 13 where you can clearly see the footprint on the side of his head from the stomping.
“No real basketball player should ever react the way that kid reacted,” said Seth’s trainer Sam Luong. He is also the owner and lead skill trainer for Sacramento Skills Academy.
Luong has been training Seth in basketball since grade school and said Seth is now suffering from a concussion.
“If any of my college guys did that in their college games, scholarship revoked. If any of the professional guys did this in a game, contract revoked,” said Luong.
According to a Facebook post on Payton Place’s site, the kid accused of the attack is no longer a team member. The apology post in part said:
“We are working to assist in providing him resources to prevent this in the future. violence has never been a part of our team.”
Could the teen face more serious consequences? A local attorney unrelated to this case, Justin Ward, told CBS13 the teen could face battery or assault for his actions, but he has not been charged with anything yet.
“It was unprovoked, it was unnecessary, there was no self-defense or defense of others,” said Ward.
Luong said it starts with parents setting a better example on the sidelines and coaches having accountability of their kids on the court.
“We can’t do this in regular life, so why should we be able to do it in a youth basketball game,” said Luong. “I feel as if youth sports need more voices as far as leadership goes.”
He said we need more adult leaders to teach kids how to play fair while in the heat of the game, or in the heat of life.
“I hope this doesn’t stop his dream of achieving whatever he wants in basketball, and most importantly, I hope his mental dream can recover from something like this,” Luong said.
The Alameda Police Department confirmed it is investigating what happened during the youth basketball game.
Seth’s family also has Kathleen Alparce, an attorney, representing them. She said they are working with law enforcement to explore all options to hold people responsible for what happened.
Alparce shared this statement on behalf of the Guingab family:
“On behalf of the Guingab Family, we first, and foremost, extend our gratitude to our friends, family, and community for the overwhelming support and concern for Seth. Seth suffered a concussion from the horrendous incident that occurred over the weekend. Seth is continuing to be monitored and taking it day by day. He is under the care of medical providers and his loving parents, as we all are hoping for his successful recovery. In the meantime, the Guingab family is working with law enforcement and other legal authorities regarding their investigation and is exploring all available options to hold those responsible for the heinous incident accountable. We take the health and safety of our children to be of the utmost importance, and violence, such as this, will not be tolerated. Thank you.”
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