A fan died at Gillette Stadium during Sunday night’s Miami Dolphins-New England Patriots game, and evidence suggests the man was involved in a physical altercation before his death.
Massachusetts State Police announced on Monday that a man in his 50s had an apparent medical incident midway through the fourth quarter of the game. Paramedics on the scene brought the man to nearby Sturdy Memorial Hospital in Attleboro, Mass., where he was pronounced dead.
The man has since been identified as 53-year-old Dale Mooney of Newmarket, New Hampshire. Witnesses told NBC 10 in Boston that Mooney was punched during an altercation prior to his death.
“It was really one punch that I saw and the victim got punched really hard on the side of the head, and went down. He’s a bigger guy but he just crumbled,” one witness said.
The witness said paramedics performed CPR on Mooney for approximately 10 minutes.
Another fan who was seated nearby shared cell phone video with WJAR in Providence, Rhode Island. The footage shows a man in a Dolphins jersey throwing a punch at another man, who is believed to be Mooney.
This is awful: A video was revealed that a 53-year old #Patriots fan hit his head after getting punched by a #Dolphins fan on Sunday Night's game.
The fan, Dale Mooney, lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital, where he passed.
This is a tragedy, hopefully these fights… https://t.co/szUMEiz6hX pic.twitter.com/BhDZqf63k8
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 19, 2023
State police detectives are still investigating the circumstances surrounding Mooney’s death.
The Dolphins defeated the Patriots 24-17 in a game that featured a wild finish.
