Happy New Year 2025

Tag: Georgia

Ravens lineman Ben Cleveland arrested in Georgia on DUI charge

Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman Ben Cleveland was arrested on a DUI charge in Georgia last week after law enforcement said he nearly swerved into a ditch, according to multiple reports.

Cleveland, who was drafted out of Georgia by the Ravens in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft, was charged Wednesday with DUI and failure to maintain a lane.

Baltimore Ravens guard Ben Cleveland (Mark Konezny-Imagn Images)

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A deputy with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office saw his black pickup truck weaving between lanes at around 10:30 p.m before witnessing that the vehicle “entered the opposite lane of travel, nearly going into the ditch,” the Associated Press reported, citing an incident report.

During the traffic stop, authorities said Cleveland admitted to the deputy that he had consumed between three and four beers while at a nearby country club but had nothing in the last two hours.

Baltimore Ravens guard Ben Cleveland (AP Photo/Terrance Williams/File)

EX-NFL STAR EDDIE LACY’S BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL ALLEGEDLY FOUR TIMES OVER LEGAL LIMIT DURING ARREST: REPORT

According to FOX 5 Atlanta, the NFL player underwent a series of field sobriety tests, including a breathalyzer, which showed that he had a blood alcohol content of 0.178, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08.

He was reportedly released the following day on bond.

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Cleveland, a standout at Georgia where he was a first-team All-SEC pick, has appeared in 54 games for Baltimore.

Then-Georgia Bulldogs offensive lineman Ben Cleveland in 2019 (Bryan Lynn-USA TODAY Sports)

Fox News Digital reached out to the Ravens for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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February 19, 2025
Georgia high school wrestler breaks neck at state championship

A Georgia high school wrestler is facing a long recovery after he suffered a broken neck in a “freak accident” during a state championship tournament earlier this week.

Dominic Haines, a Jefferson High School senior, suffered a broken neck in the final seconds of his quarterfinal match of the GHSA Traditional Wrestling State Championships in Macon, Georgia, on Thursday.

Dominic’s coach told FOX 5 that it was a “freak accident.” (Mary Williford)

Assistant wrestling coach Matthew Seaman called it a “freak accident,” telling FOX 5 Atlanta that it happened after his opponent performed a legal takedown.

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“It’s a heartbreaking situation all in all for both sides, obviously for us, but definitely for this opponent who did absolutely nothing wrong,” he told the station.

“This has been years in the works for him,” Seaman added. “Dom’s come up through the youth program at Jefferson, the middle school program, and the high school program; this is a true family. This was his year, everything was coming together.”

Dominic’s father, Zach Haines, said his son is slowly regaining feeling in his lower half. (Mary Williford)

Dominic’s father, Zach Haines, provided updates about his son’s condition in a series of Facebook posts.

WASHINGTON MAN FACES ASSAULT CHARGES AFTER ALLEGEDLY ATTACKING TEEN REFEREES DURING SON’S HOCKEY GAME

He said after the accident, Dominic had “no feeling from the shoulders down.”

Dominic underwent surgery on Thursday, which his father said went “according to plan.”

In his latest update on social media, Haines said his son has shown positive signs of recovery with some feeling in his lower half. Dominic will undergo another surgery later this week “to fuse the vertebrae from the back since the muscles and ligaments were all completely torn,” his father said in a recent update.

Dominic was competing in a quarterfinal match of the GHSA Traditional Wrestling State Championships last week. (Mary Williford)

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Haines said if his son continues to progress, he could be transferred to a rehabilitation center in a week.

A GoFundMe campaign for Dominic has raised over $62,000 as of Tuesday.

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February 18, 2025
Swalwell faces social media backlash for post tying Trump to Georgia small plane crash

Rep. Eric Swallwell, D-Calif., is facing backlash online after suggesting President Donald Trump is to blame for a small plane crash in Georgia this weekend.

Swallwell took to social media Monday morning to declare that Trump has had “more planes crash” in his first month in office than any other U.S. president. The lawmaker made the comment in reaction to a small private plane crash that took place this weekend in Covington, Georgia, which left two people dead.

Social media users began to pile on immediately, calling out Swallwell for what they saw as an unfair connection to Trump.

“Are you suggesting the catalysts for those crashes were all caused by policies changed in the last month?” one user wrote.

HARROWING VIDEO FROM MILITARY BASE SHOWS NEW ANGLE OF MIDAIR CRASH CATASTROPHE

“You really do have TDS. Grab some coffee and take a walk,” wrote another user who goes by the name of SouthernRepublicanMomma.

Swallwell’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

FAA, NTSB TO BRIEF SENATORS ON WASHINGTON, DC, MIDAIR COLLISION

Georgia’s crash saw a single-engine airplane take off from the Covington Municipal Airport at 11 p.m. on Saturday. Ground control lost communication with the plane roughly 20 minutes later, at which point police officers located the plane crashed near the runway.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has addressed the public multiple times regarding recent plane crashes in Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and elsewhere. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The plane’s two occupants were immediately announced dead at the scene.

“On February 15, 2025, the Covington Police Department officers responded to the Covington Municipal Airport at approximately 11:21 p.m. after receiving a call from the FAA in reference to a single-engine aircraft that had taken off at approximately 11:00 p.m. There was no further communication from the aircraft after takeoff,” the Covington Police Department said in a statement.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has confirmed they are investigating the crash.

Wreckage is seen in the Potomac River near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, on Thursday, Jan. 30. (Petty Officer 1st Class Brandon Giles, U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

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The incident comes in the wake of multiple other plane crashes in recent weeks, the most dramatic being the collision of a helicopter and a commercial airliner in the skies over Washington, D.C. last month.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to [email protected], or on Twitter: @Hagstrom_Anders.

February 17, 2025
New study ranks Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Texas cities among the best to get married

Brilliant Earth CEO Beth Gerstein explains how she’s using the blockchain to source her jewels on ‘The Claman Countdown.’

With Valentine’s Day this week, it’s a good time of year to keep an eye on trends in the wedding industry.

That’s why WalletHub recently published a list of the best places to get married in 2025. With the average cost of a wedding growing to $35,000 in 2024, couples may want to stay flexible on where to tie the knot – and some cities have a better bang for your buck than others.

Analysts compared 182 U.S. cities on multiple criteria, including: how much the average wedding costs; how many affordable wedding venues and vendors per capita a city has; and the price of a three-star hotel room.

Here are the top 50 best places to get married, ranked from least to best.

THIS MIDWESTERN STATE IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST PLACES TO RETIRE, NEW STUDY SAYS: SEE THE LIST

The average cost of a wedding in the U.S. is around $35,000, according to The Knot and WalletHub. (iStock / iStock)

50. Memphis, Tennessee

49. Albuquerque, New Mexico

48. Minneapolis, Minnesota

47. Indianapolis, Indiana

46. Jacksonville, Florida

45. Birmingham, Alabama

44. Kansas City, Missouri

43. Chattanooga, Tennessee

42. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

41. Reno, Nevada

40. St. Petersburg, Florida

39. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

38. Springfield, Missouri

37. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

36. Columbia, South Carolina

35. Honolulu, Hawaii

34. El Paso, Texas

33. Charleston, South Carolina

32. New York, New York

31. Knoxville, Tennessee

30. Seattle, Washington

29. Washington, D.C.

28. Tulsa, Oklahoma

STUDY RANKS US STATES WITH MOST FINANCIALLY-DISTRESSED RESIDENTS — SEE THE LIST

WalletHub compared 182 U.S. cities to see which ones were the best value for hosting weddings in. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images)

27. Richmond, Virginia

26. Charlotte, North Carolina

25. Scottsdale, Arizona

24. Salt Lake City, Utah

23. Dallas, Texas

22. Nashville, Tennessee

21. Sacramento, California

20. San Antonio, Texas

19. Tucson, Arizona

18. Portland, Oregon

17. Denver, Colorado

16. Cincinnati, Ohio

15. Phoenix, Arizona

14. St. Louis, Missouri

13. Chicago, Illinois

12. San Diego, California

11. Los Angeles, California

10. Fort Lauderdale, Florida

9. New Orleans, Louisiana

8. Houston, Texas

7. San Francisco, California

6. Austin, Texas

5. Tampa, Florida

4. Atlanta, Georgia

3. Miami, Florida

2. Las Vegas, Nevada

1. Orlando, Florida

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Analysts found that Orlando not only offers an abundance of wedding services, such as party equipment rentals, videographers and DJs, but that it’s also an ideal destination for out-of-town guests.

“Orlando is a good place for out-of-town guests to stay in because it has the second-highest number of hotels per capita in the country and its three-star hotels can be surprisingly cheap for a big city,” the study found. “Plus, guests who want to stay for more than just the wedding can enjoy Orlando’s abundant attractions – it ranks second among the most fun cities and is the third-best city for foodies.”

Likewise, WalletHub ranked Sin City very highly, considering it the number one most fun city in America – and with the amount of attractions and affordable restaurants, it’s a good-value location for weddings as well.

The price of wedding vendors was a key criterion in WalletHub’s study. (iStock / iStock)

“Another thing to note is that while Las Vegas definitely isn’t the cheapest city for holding your wedding, it’s also not as expensive as you might think – the average cost of having a wedding is the 38th-cheapest out of the more than 180 cities in our study,” the report explained.

Miami was ranked as the third-best city for weddings, considering the abundance of wedding vendors in South Florida and the Magic City’s reputation as being one of the best U.S. food cities.

“In addition, staying in Miami is not too taxing on guests’ wallets,” the study noted. “The lowest price for a 3-star hotel room is $81, the 12th-lowest in the country, and Miami has an abundance of affordable restaurants rated at least 4.5 stars.”

The most expensive cities to get married in included: Oakland, California; Oxnard, California; Pearl City, Hawaii; Fremont, California; Santa Rosa, California, and San Jose, California.

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Orlando was a top-40 city in terms of wedding affordability, WalletHub found. (iStock / iStock)

“When weddings can cost tens of thousands of dollars and prices have only become even more outrageously inflated in recent years, it pays to hold your wedding in a city that’s affordable, both for those paying for the wedding and for guests who will need to make accommodations,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo advised. “Certain cities also make wedding planning easier with an abundance of options for wedding essentials, from florists to videographers to venues.”

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“The more options a city has, the more likely you are to receive competitive pricing and to find places that can work with your optimal schedule.”

February 9, 2025
Conservative firebrand ‘considering all possibilities’ for two key races in Georgia next year

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, one of the most visibile and combustible members of Congress and a top supporter of President Donald Trump in the House, says she is not closing any doors when it comes to a run for the Senate or governor in her home state next year.

“Of course, I’m considering all possibilities. No decisions have been made, but I would be telling a lie if I didn’t say I wasn’t considering it,” Greene said when asked during an interview Thursday evening with the Atlanta Journal Constitution about a possible Senate bid in 2026.

Greene, who is now in her third term representing the heavily red northwest corner of the key southeastern battleground state, added that a bid for Georgia governor was also on the table.

WILL THIS POPULAR REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR JUMP INTO A TOP 2026 SENATE RACE?

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) questions witnesses during a hearing of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill on June 6, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The congresswoman, thanks to her regular in-your-face social media attacks on the left as well as some well-documented infighting with fellow Republicans in the House, has vastly expanded her national profile over the past couple of years.

WHY SENATE REPUBLICANS ARE OFF TO A STRONG START IN 2026 BALLOT BOX BATTLE

The Senate race in Georgia, where Democrat Sen. Jon Ossoff is facing re-election in 2026, will likely be one of the most competitive, divisive and expensive showdowns of the cycle, as the GOP tries to hold and possibly expand its current 53-47 majority in the chamber.

Democratic Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff arrives before a subcommittee hearing on Sept. 13, 2023 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

Georgia and national Republicans are courting popular conservative Republican Gov. Brian Kemp – who is term-limited and cannot seek re-election next year – to run for the Senate.

“I think Gov. Kemp would be a very solid candidate,” Greene said.

TRUMP-BACKED 2024 GOP SENATE NOMINEE IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE MOVING TOWARDS ANOTHER RUN IN 2026

Kemp has not weighed in publicly on whether he’ll run for the Senate.

“We’ll see what happens down the road,” he told Fox News Digital late last year.

When asked about his political future, the governor said “I try to keep all doors open in politics.”

If Kemp does not run for the Senate, other Republicans besides Greene who may potentially launch a campaign include Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins, state insurance commissioner John King and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

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In the Republican race to succeed Kemp as governor, Lt. Gov Burt Jones, a top Trump loyalist, and attorney general Chris Carr are expected to be the leading candidates.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

February 7, 2025
Top Georgia Republican unveils statewide DOGE plan to ‘reset’ regulations: ‘Red Tape Rollback’

Georgia’s Republican lieutenant governor has introduced a plan similar to the DOGE efforts taking place with the Trump administration that he tells Fox News Digital will bring much-needed government accountability to his state.

“I own my own business employing thousands of people, and I know one of the biggest things that we run into as small business owners is regulatory burdens. And that’s regulatory burdens at the local, state and federal level,” Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones told Fox News Digital of his Red Tape Rollback Act of 2025.

“We’ve been fortunate here in Georgia to be the No. 1 state to do business for 11 years running, and if we want to stay like that, we’re going to have to always be retooling how we do things, improving how we do things, making government more efficient, making it try to work more like business.”

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT DOGE AND ITS QUEST TO SLASH GOVERNMENT WASTE, SPENDING

Jones introduced the plan last year but was unable to move it through the Georgia Legislature. But he said Trump’s DOGE efforts provided an opportunity to pair the plan with the new DOGE brand that has become increasingly popular with Republicans and some Democrats in Washington, D.C.

“That’s what the essence or the genesis behind red tape rollback, which is our state version of DOGE that the Trump administration is doing, and I’m excited about what they’re doing with the first week of that administration,” Jones said.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is pushing a statewide plan in Georgia that’s similar to DOGE efforts by the Trump administration. (Getty Images)

Jones explained to Fox News Digital what the priorities of his statewide DOGE plan would entail if successfully passed through the Legislature.

“The first thing we’d like to do is basically have a reset on all regulatory issues at every state agency. And what I mean by that is, instead of always adding more regulations, we’ll start back at zero and then the agencies just add what they need,” Jones said.

ELON MUSK’S DOGE MAKES ANOTHER HIRING PUSH

“There are so many regulations that are on the books that have been put there from decades worth of, you know, legislative laws that were passed or whatever. What our bill will do is basically have a reset just like you would on a computer game or whatever.

“And say there’s a lot of things that are unneeded, whether we’re talking about on the educational front, on the environment front, transportation, whatever it might be, just the entire blanket. Have a reset, and then make the agencies tell us what regulations are needed and which ones they’re glad to get rid of.”

Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (Elijah Nouvelage/Bloomberg)

Jones said in a press release his bill will “also give legislators the ability to request a ‘Small Business Impact Analysis’ for pending legislation to better understand how a bill might impact Georgia’s most important job creators.”

Jones told Fox News Digital that statewide spending waste is at a much “smaller scale” than federal government waste, but he said he hopes his statewide efforts will help shine a light on waste in the federal government.

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Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy are heading the Department of Government Efficiency. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“There’s no question D.C. is the elephant, so to speak, in the room that has gotten so bloated through duplicate agencies, duplicate services, whatever it might be,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of ways to trim the fat at the federal level.

“State government, it won’t be anything like what you have at the federal level, but there’s definitely inefficiencies that need to be addressed, whether it’s in licensing, permitting processes, whatever it might be, regulatory codes and things that need to be repealed. Those are all things that are going to be on the table.”

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].

February 1, 2025
Former Lia Thomas opponents share ‘abuse,’ push Georgia lawmakers to pass trans athlete in women’s sports ban

A Georgia state Senate committee passed the Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act Thursday after testimony from multiple female athletes who have competed against and shared locker rooms with transgender athletes.

The bill would require athletes to participate on teams that align with their biological sex at birth. If it is signed into law, Georgia would become the 26th state in the U.S. to have a law in place to prevent or restrict transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.

Georgia has been a prime frontier for this issue after the state hosted the 2022 NCAA women’s swimming championships, which included transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

Two of Thomas’ former opponents testified at Thursday’s state congressional hearing.

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Riley Gaines, a spokeswoman for the Independent Women’s Forum, tied Lia Thomas for fifth place in the 200 freestyle finals at the NCAA swimming and diving championships. (Brett Davis/USA Today Sports)

Former North Carolina State women’s swimmer Kylee Alons, a 31-time All-American and two-time NCAA champion, spoke about the experience competing against and sharing a locker room with Thomas.

“We all were just guinea pigs for a giant social experiment formed by the NCAA regarding how much abuse and blatant disregard women would be forced to take in silence,” Alons said.

Alons recounted the emotions she felt sharing competitive areas with Thomas, and how much sadness she felt watching women lose out on chances to compete fairly at the event. Alons even said she wanted to cry and leave the event after seeing Thomas win the 500-meter freestyle.

“It all just felt so off and wrong,” she said.

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Things got much more difficult for Lyons after she experienced sharing a locker room with Thomas.

“I go to the locker room that day only to see Thomas and realize there is no escape from this nightmare, no matter where I go. I had no idea he was going to be allowed in the women’s locker room as we did not consent to have a man in our locker room,” Lyons said

“I am immediately on edge every time I enter that locker room afterward, knowing at any moment a man can walk in on me changing.

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Lyons added she felt so uncomfortable she resorted to abandoning the locker room altogether and instead changed in a storage closet behind the bleachers.

Former University of Kentucky swimmer Kaitlynn Wheeler joined Lyons in recounting the experience of sharing a locker room with Thomas.

“Young women, teenage girls were forced to undress next to a fully intact biological male who exposed himself to us, while we were simultaneously fully exposed,” Wheeler said. “We were never asked. We were never given a choice or another option. We were just expected to be OK with it, to shove down our discomfort, our embarrassment, our fear, because standing up for ourselves would mean being labeled as intolerant or hateful or bigoted.”

Penn Quakers swimmer Lia Thomas prepares for the 200 free at the NCAA swimming and diving championships at Georgia Tech in Atlanta March 18, 2022. (Brett Davis/USA Today Sports)

Wheeler and Lyons are plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit against the NCAA led by fellow former swimmer and 2022 NCAA championship competitor Riley Gaines over the NCAA’s policies on gender ideology.

Wheeler and Lyons shared their experiences with a message urging state senators at the hearing to pass the Fair and Safe Athletic Opportunities Act.

The bill drew opposition from parents, physicians and others. Dr. Jodi Greenwald, a Roswell pediatrician, told the panel that transgender girls are not predators and warned that transgender youth are more at risk of suicide.

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The bill passed by a vote of 8-3 after a nearly two-hour hearing.

Lt. Gov. Bill Jones called the vote an important step toward one of his critical goals of the session.

“Biological men do not belong in women’s sports, period,” Jones said.

“This is common sense to everyone but the most radical liberals in Georgia. The Senate has always led the way on protecting women’s sports, and with Senate Bill 1, we will continue to be on the right side of this commonsense issue.

“I will never waver in the fight to protect our sisters and our daughters participating on equal footing in Georgia sports. I look forward to Senate Bill 1 becoming law and the protection of women’s sports becoming a reality for all female athletes in Georgia.”

A federal ban on transgender inclusion in girls and women’s sports is also moving through Congress.

The House of Representatives passed the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act Jan. 14, which would cut federal funding for any public educational institution that allows transgender athletes to compete against girls and women in sports.

Every Republican U.S. representative voted in favor of the bill. Only two Democrats, Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez, both of Texas, voted to pass it. The remaining 206 House House Democrats opposed it. Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., voted “present.”

A recent New York Times/Ipsos survey found the vast majority of Americans, including a majority of Democrats, don’t think transgender athletes should be permitted to compete in women’s sports. Of the 2,128 people polled, 79% said biological males who identify as women should not be allowed to participate in women’s sports.

Of the 1,025 people who identified as Democrats or leaning Democrat, 67% said transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete with women.

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Jackson Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He previously worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.

January 31, 2025
Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms mulling Georgia gubernatorial run

Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, said she is considering a run to be Georgia’s next governor.

Bottoms, who most recently served in the Biden administration, told Fox 5 Atlanta that she is seriously contemplating running in the Georgia gubernatorial election in 2026 but wants to finish some things she is working on first, including a new book.

She also knocked President Donald Trump, who she believes is already failing to deliver on his campaign promises, as she eyes a return to public office.

BIDEN’S FORMER SENIOR ADVISER KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS REJOINING WHITE HOUSE IN NEW ROLE

Keisha Lance Bottoms speaks a press briefing at the White House on January 13, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

The former mayor further criticized the president for mass deporting illegal migrants who have not committed violent crimes.

“I don’t think there are many people who are against people who have violent criminal records being deported if they are in the country illegally,” she said. “When I see the raids, I immediately think of the families that are left behind, and it’s reminiscent of family separation policies that I had to deal with when I was mayor of Atlanta.”

Bottoms resigned earlier this month from the White House, where she served on President Joe Biden’s Export Council. Trump claimed on Truth Social that he fired her after he took office, but she provided a letter from Biden thanking her for her service, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

Keisha Lance Bottoms attends the Cancer Moonshot event on October 24, 2022, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

“I had already resigned. I sent in my resignation letter the first week of January saying it was effective Jan. 20, and it also was an unpaid position,” Bottoms said.

She also previously served in the Biden administration as senior advisor to the president and director of the White House Office of Public Engagement from July 2022 until April 2023.

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE FROM WHITE HOUSE ROLE

Keisha Lance Bottoms during the Bloomberg Equality Summit in New York, on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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Bottoms also wanted to address critics who say she quit her job as Atlanta’s mayor when she decided not to run for re-election in 2021.

“I think people forget that mayors are elected to a four-year term,” she said. “I finished my term. If we want people to serve as mayor for eight years, we should make sure that they are elected to an eight-year term.”

January 28, 2025
Georgia high school basketball player assaults pair of athletes from opposing team, video shows

Tempers flared during a high school basketball game in Georgia this month. The heated moment appeared to spark a physical altercation between players from opposing teams.

TMZ reported that the fight in question happened during a game between Sonoraville High School and Rockmart High School on Jan. 3 in Calhoun, Georgia. Calhoun is located approximately 70 miles from downtown Atlanta.

A video posted to social media appeared to show an unidentified Rockmart player shoving one of Sonoraville’s athletes to the ground. The Rockmart athlete then immediately hit the Sonoraville player in the face immediately after he regained his footing.

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The altercation happened during a basketball game between Sonoraville High School and Rockmart High School in Calhoun, Ga., on Jan. 3, 2025. (Fox News)

The Rockmart player was later seen punching a separate player from the opposing team.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYER JUMPS INTO ACTION TO SAVE OPPONENT’S LIFE AFTER HARROWING ON-COURT COLLAPSE

The second Sonoraville player was hit after he dashed toward the scuffle. Spectators in the crowd could be heard making noises as they reacted to the situation. The video also showed some individuals moving from the stands to the court area to intervene.

The altercation happened during a basketball game between Sonoraville High School and Rockmart High School in Calhoun, Ga., on Jan. 3, 2025.

An incident report from the Gordon County Sheriff’s Office suggested a Rockmart player was provoked by the repeated use of a racial slur by the player from the opposing team.

The teenager who appeared to initiate physical contact during the incident faces two charges of simple battery, per the police report. The brawl broke out during the third quarter of the game.

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Officials from Rockmart High School and Sonoraville High School have yet to offer public comment on the incident.

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Chantz Martin is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

January 24, 2025