With Super Bowl LVI quickly approaching, an altercation at last week’s NFC Championship Game has some worried.
The confrontation left 40-year-old San Francisco 49ers fan Daniel Luna in a medically induced coma, with officials saying a shove and a punch sent him falling down before he hit his head on the parking lot.
Los Angeles resident Bryan Alexis Cifuentes, 33, was arrested and faces potential charges of assault by means to produce great bodily injury, though his family and Inglewood Mayor James Butts claim Luna was the aggressor in the fight.
The incident brought up painful memories for Rafael Reyna, who was attacked at Dodger Stadium in 2019 and was also put into a medically induced coma after his head hit the pavement.
Reyna filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Dodgers after he suffered a brain injury, which he attributed in part to a reduction in security staff at the stadium.
Now, with such a similar incident happening in Los Angeles County, Reyna and his wife, Christel, are asking for the violence to stop at sporting events.
“This violence has to stop. I would not feel comfortable taking my kids to any sporting event at this point,” Christel Reyna said. “We’re also 49er fans, and to hear that this happened while the 49ers were playing, we’re taken aback by it. When is it going to stop?”
The Reynas’ attorney Carl Douglas said it’s on the teams’ “billionaire owners” to ensure the safety of fans.
“They have a privilege in holding events where all the world is watching, but with that privilege, with that honor, comes responsibility,” Douglas said.
Douglas and the Reynas said they’d like to see more security, especially in parking areas.
The federal security coordinator for Super Bowl LVI said he’s “cautiously optimistic and comfortable” about the Big Game.
“Extensive manpower is being deployed to protect the stadium and the public,” he added.
