Wake Forest Assistant Coach Punched A Guy In The Face, And That Guy Died

NY Times- An assistant basketball coach at Wake Forest University was arrested Thursday in New York City after a man the police say he punched in Queens over the weekend died of his injuries.

The victim, Sandor Szabo, 35, of Florida, fell onto the pavement and lost consciousness after he was punched in the face during a confrontation just after 1 a.m. Sunday in Long Island City, the police said. After Mr. Szabo fell, security footage showed his attacker walking away, and the police said he left the scene in a white sport utility vehicle. Mr. Szabo was taken to a hospital in critical condition. He died on Tuesday afternoon.

The Associated Press, citing a person familiar with the investigation,reported that Mr. Szabo might have been banging on car windows just before the confrontation.

In May 2017, Mr. Jones, who is from Philadelphia, became an assistant to Danny Manning, the head men’s basketball coach for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. “He is a well-respected bright mind in our profession,” Mr. Manning said in a statement at the time.

What a nightmare story out of Queens. There aren’t too many details yet, but from what we know, this guy Sandor Szabo was out in Queens over the weekend. It sounds like he was knocking on car windows, which makes me think he was looking for his Uber? I typically let them roll down their car windows and ask “Franseees?” but maybe he was in a hurry. I guess he knocked on the wrong car and the assistant coach at Wake Forest, Jamill Jones, got out of the car and punched him in the face. Szabo fell backwards, smacked his head, and ended up dying from his injuries. Just one of those freak things that you hear about every so often. Brutal.

This is one of the many reasons why I don’t punch people in the face. You never know what could happen. I’ve watched so many street fights on YouTube that I’m desensitized to bare-knuckle punches in the real world. Every knockout I’ve seen on the internet is followed by a crowd of people yelling, “oh he sleepin’!” for 30 seconds or so. Then somebody helps the guy up. He’s usually woozy, but he’s alive. The body is resilient. He’ll probably have a headache for a few days, and he might fail concussion protocol, but he returns to work the next day with a shiner and a bullshit backstory as to how it happened.

The reality is that when you punch someone in the face on the street, they might stumble backwards into a fish tank of piranhas who then tear him to pieces. Or maybe you punch a guy into a beehive and he has a bee allergy. Or perhaps an uppercut sends your opponent into the arms of a a vindictive woman who marries him and then hits him with a financially-crippling divorce. The point is, your punch could end someone’s life. Which will end your life. So save your hands for the ring at Rough ‘N Rowdy, where the contestants have signed liability release waivers so you’re good to go.