By Gillian Wong
The Associated Press
At a Georgetown–Bayi game, from left: Vice President Joe Biden, Georgetown President John DeGioia, and Ambassador Gary Locke (photo from the U.S. Embassy in China)
BEIJING (AP) — A wild brawl broke out between Georgetown and a Chinese men’s basketball team on Thursday, Aug. 18, putting an immediate end to a supposed goodwill game that coincided with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden’s visit to the country.
The benches cleared and fights erupted all over the court with about 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The rest of the exhibition between Georgetown and the Bayi Rockets was called off.
Biden did not attend the game. On Wednesday, he watched the Hoyas beat the Shanxi Zhongyu Brave Dragons 98-81.
The Washington Post reported Georgetown and Bayi players tackled and threw punches at each other. Chairs and water bottles were tossed as the Hoyas headed to the locker room with the score 64-64 in a testy, foul-plagued matchup.
“Tonight, two great teams played a very competitive game that unfortunately ended after heated exchanges with both teams,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said in a statement. “We sincerely regret that this situation occurred.”
The melee was the latest instance of on-court fighting by China, whose players have been fined tens of thousands of dollars by the world and Asian federations for scrapping with opponents.
Georgetown is in China on a 10-day trip that has been cited by the U.S. State Department as an example of sports diplomacy that strengthens ties between the two countries. The Hoyas were briefed by the State Department ahead of their departure on what to expect during the trip to Beijing and Shanghai, according to news releases on the university’s website.
“We remain grateful for the opportunity our student-athletes are having to engage in a sport they love here in China, while strengthening their understanding of a nation we respect and admire at Georgetown University,” Thompson III said.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Mark Toner called it an “unfortunate” incident.
“We look to these types of exchanges to promote good sportsmanship and strengthen our people-to-people contact with China,” he said. (end)