The family of a lifelong New England Patriots fan who died after he was punched by a Miami Dolphins fan at a game last weekend is getting support from the rival’s fan base.
Dolphins fans poured into a GoFundMe page launched Wednesday to support the family of Dale Mooney, 53, who died after an incident at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts on Sunday night.
“No fan should ever come home from a game,” Dolphin fan Joseph Lang wrote on the page. “Dolphins fans do not condone the actions of that single fan… my condolences to your family.”
Matthew Derderian added, “May your family find peace during this nonsense. From Dolphins fans.”
Mooney collapsed and later died after being punched at least twice in the head during a fight caught on camera at Sunday night’s Patriots-Miami Dolphins game.
Video posted online shows Dale Mooney, 53, being punched in the face by an unidentified Dolphins fan at a New England Patriots game on Sunday.Brian Looney via WJAR
Video captured by bystanders showed the 6-foot-3 Mooney being hit in the temple before falling, sparking outrage online.
Now, many are rallying behind the father of two — including some Dolphins fans who say the forward doesn’t represent them.
A woman on Facebook, Rebecca Meains, said she started a Dolphins merchandise raffle to raise money for the Mooney family.
Several Dolphins fans are now expressing their support for the Mooney family.Gofundme
Many Dolphins fans claim the unidentified attacker does not represent their fans.Gofundme
“I want to show the Mooney family what kind of Dolphins fans they are, and I’m holding a raffle and [raffling] giving away an autographed OJ McDuffie jersey, and all proceeds will go to Dale Mooney’s family,” he wrote on Wednesday.
“We’re putting this money on Dolphins Nation fans because we want them to know what kind of fans we really are,” Meains continued.
“Dolphin fans are the best. We are loving, caring fans and our prayers and deepest sympathies go out to the Mooney family.
“We have to be better people and be kind in a bad world,” he wrote.
Mooney is a lifelong New England Patriots fan and father of two.Gofundme
It was previously reported that Dolphins running back Salvon Ahmed also expressed support for the Mooney family, sharing a link to the GoFundMe.
“I know Dolphins fans are the best at things like this, so show your support for this guy’s family,” an account claiming to be a football player tweeted Tuesday afternoon.
A follow-up post from the account said, “something like this shouldn’t happen, especially at the football game we all love.”
Mooney was pronounced dead at a local hospital following the altercation. Brian Looney via WJAR
But Ahmed said on Wednesday the tweet came from a fake account.
“It has come to my attention that there is a fake X account pretending to be me and posting on my behalf,” he posted on his real X account. “I want to clarify that I am not currently active on X.”
“Recent posts sharing GoFundMe links, while misleading in origin, are indeed directed to legitimate funds.”
Ahmed later went on to express his support for the Mooney family.
An X account purporting to be Dolphins running back Salvon Ahmed shared a GoFundMe.Getty Images
“My condolences to his family,” he wrote. “The love and support shown by everyone is very touching.
“If you wish to continue to contribute, I wholeheartedly support that decision, and GoFundMe has assured me and my team that the funds are genuine.”
Police and security personnel responded to the upper deck of Gillette Stadium shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday to find Mooney “in need of medical attention,” the Norfolk County District Attorney’s office said.
The office announced Wednesday that Mooney had died of “medical issues” and not of blunt force trauma.
It did not elaborate on the medical issue, and said Mooney’s exact cause and manner of death had yet to be determined and further tests were needed.
Ahmed said on Wednesday the tweet came from a fake account.@AhmedSalvon / X
A witness previously told local media that he saw Mooney physically fight with a group of other men before a Dolphins fan approached him and dragged him away.
“He basically got into a fight with another fan,” Joey Kilmartin told the Boston Globe, adding that others tried to separate them.
“Then a man in a Dolphins jersey reached over and he followed up with two punches to the victim’s head. It wasn’t anything crazy or unusual until, 30 seconds later, the guy didn’t wake up.”
Authorities said they were reviewing “multiple angles of video footage of the altercation” amid their investigation and have asked any witnesses who have yet to be interviewed to come forward.
It remains unclear whether the unidentified Dolphins fan will face any charges following Mooney’s death.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
