The Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office is investigating a tragic incident that occurred in the 300-level seats at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night during a Dolphins-Patriots game. The incident, which occurred just before 11:00 p.m. local time, left one Patriots fan – Dale Mooney, 53 – dead after a fight broke out.
Mooney, who resides in Newmarket, New Hampshire, has been a New England Patriots season ticket holder for 30 years and was enjoying the Sunday Night Football game with some friends. Toward the end of the game, Mooney was allegedly being heckled by a couple of Miami Dolphins fans when things turned physical.
Videos taken by nearby fans show a scuffle breaking out between Mooney and a Dolphins fan – who has yet to be identified. At one point during the fight, the Dolphins fan punched Mooney in the face twice, resulting in Mooney losing consciousness as he fell into a seat. Medical personnel rushed to the scene.
According to Massachusetts State Police, Dale Mooney suffered an ‘apparent medical event’ during the fourth quarter of the game. Security and medical personnel attempted to revive Mooney but were unsuccessful. He was then transported to Sturdy Memorial Hospital – about 30 minutes from the stadium.
Mooney was later pronounced dead upon arriving at the hospital, less than one hour after the incident occurred. Investigators are waiting to hear back from the Medical Examiner, who will determine the cause of death. At this time, no charges have been filed against the Dolphins fan.
“The guy in the Dolphins jersey got hauled away by police and that’s when everybody noticed something was wrong a minute or so later the guy still hadn’t made any movement it really didn’t look like he was breathing,” Joey Kilmartin, who witnessed and recorded the incident, said in an interview after the game.
Kilmartin called the scuffle ‘hard to watch’ and ‘unsettling’ – not just for him, but for everyone else who had to witness it. It’s unclear what the group of Dolphins fans said to Dale Mooney. Scenes like this don’t belong inside a sports venue – even if it involves rival teams.
Dale Mooney Remembered as a ‘Good Dad’ to His Two Sons
In an interview with Boston 25 News, Lisa Mooney – the wife of Dale Mooney – described her husband as a ‘good dad’ to their two adult sons, who weren’t at the game when he collapsed. She was trying to figure out how something like this could happen – especially to her husband – in a family-friendly environment.
“It takes a lot to get him mad. He has the patience of a saint. I don’t know what happened,” she said of her husband – adding that Dale Mooney had no known medical conditions that could’ve resulted in his death. “Numb… I just feel numb. I just can’t even believe this is for real. I want to know what happened.”
At this time, investigators are waiting to determine if his death was a direct result of the fight that broke out – something that will be resolved when the Medical Examiner conducts an autopsy of Dale’s body. Charges will have to be filed at some point, but the extent of those charges will depend on the autopsy.
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That said, Lisa Mooney had a simple message for everyone out there who plans on attending a sports event in the future. “I just don’t understand why people have to go to that extreme. Why can’t it just be fun? That’s all it’s supposed to be, a fun family event,” she said. Our hearts go out to the Mooney family.
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