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A 16-year-old Tennessee girl has explained why she ran onto a football field and tackled a middle school player, claiming she was trying to protect her younger brother from what she believed was excessive physical treatment.
Addison Hunnicutt was watching her brother play for Cornersville Middle School against South Middle School in Winchester, Tennessee, on Tuesday night when she said she became increasingly concerned about the way he was being treated by an opposing player.
According to Hunnicutt, the 13-year-old player grabbed her brother's facemask and repeatedly spun him around before he was allegedly struck in the ribs.
That was the moment she decided she had seen enough. "That’s when I started to be like, no, I’m done watching this," Hunnicutt told WTVF.
She insisted that her intention was not simply to confront the opposing player.
“I wasn’t going after this kid just to go after him,” she claimed. “That wasn’t my intention at all. Seeing what they were doing to him and no one stopping it, that kind of made me the last choice. Somebody has to stop this.”
Hunnicutt then climbed onto the field at Franklin County High School and ran towards the 13-year-old player.
She tackled him to the ground twice before coaches and officials intervened and removed her from the field.
While Hunnicutt's mother said she understood why her daughter was upset, she made clear that she did not approve of her decision to enter the field.
“I made sure she understood quickly that her behavior, that was inappropriate, and you should not have jumped over the fence,” Elizabeth Chumbley told the outlet.
However, Chumbley also claimed she had witnessed something more serious than ordinary football contact involving her son.
“I’m seeing my son on the ground being attacked,” she added. “This wasn’t just a football play. This is him on the ground being physically attacked by this other player.”
The father of the player who was tackled by Hunnicutt defended his son and praised him for not retaliating after the incident.
Brandon Taylor said on Facebook he spoke to his son following the game and claimed the teenager remained composed despite what had happened.
“I was at the game. I greeted my son afterward, and even in that moment, his first response was, ‘She better be glad she’s a girl.’ That alone says a lot about his character. He had every reason to be angry, yet he still showed restraint,” Taylor wrote on Facebook.
He added: “My son is a true gentleman, and he did not deserve to be tackled, pushed, or humiliated on the field. He is a 13-year-old child, and I will always stand up for him and protect him.”
Hunnicutt was subsequently removed from the stadium and charged with assault and disorderly conduct by the Franklin County Sheriff's Office.
She has also been banned from Franklin County Schools' properties for life.
The teenager was additionally told that she cannot attend future Cornersville Middle School football games, whether they are played at home or away.
