Man beaten to unconsciousness by teens after telling them to stop using basketball goal

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During Covid, a family off of Kansas Avenue and Decatur Street put up an adjustable basketball hoop on their back deck, right on the alley, to let their two young kids play. The spot was popular with other neighborhood kids, and the two homeowners were happy to let other children use the net whenever they wanted

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The couple, who wish to remain anonymous so we’ll call them John and Jane, would raise or lower the basketball hoop to fit whomever came by to play, making it easier to use. Around 7:30pm on Monday night, April 11th, as dusk slowly fell, four kids showed up at the back of the house. One was reportedly as young as 10, one was pushing a stroller, and two were older teens. One older teen was wearing a black sweatshirt with a white rectangle, the other older teen in a yellow jacket.
John greeted the kids and lowered the net to make it easier for them to play and dunk the ball. He told them that they could play for a little while, but that they’d need to stop when it got late as his young 5-year old daughter would need to go to bed, and the hoop was below her window.

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John went out and adjusted the hoop for them as he often does as a kindness, and got out the basketballs we keep on hand,” Jane said. “He asked them to be sure to stop playing at dark so he could get our daughter to bed without noise. At 9:30 they were still playing, so when my daughter complained about the noise, John went out to ask them to stop.”

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John is just a very calm guy,” Jane said. “After he asked them to stop playing, the bigger of the teens came at John on the stairs, yelling ‘What did you say to me? Why are you coming at me?’ The boy then rushed John and punched him [in the head].”

John fell or was pulled from the staircase, unconscious, and the kids allegedly proceeded to kick and stomp on him. “He doesn't remember anything after that first punch,” Jane said.

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While MPD showed up quickly, the responding officers told the couple they shouldn’t have spoken to the teens, but called MPD to remove them.

“The last thing we wanted to do was to call the police on four Black kids playing basketball in an alley,” Jane said. “My husband had already spoken to them, had set up the net for them. Everything seemed fine. Then this attack happened… it just seems so ruthless to attack him, leave him bleeding on the ground as they calmly walked away.”

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