The "knockout game" is one of many names given by American news media to assaults
in which one or more assailants attempt to knock out an unsuspecting victim,
often with a single sucker punch, all for the amusement of the attacker(s) and
their accomplice(s). Other names given to assaults of this type include
"knockout", "knockout king", "point 'em out, knock 'em out", "bomb", and
"polar-bearing" or "polar-bear hunting". Serious injuries and even deaths have
been attributed to the "knockout game". Some news sources report that there has
been an escalation of such attacks in late 2013, and in some cases the
attacker has been charged with a hate crime, while some politicians have been
seeking new targeted legislation specifically against it. However, other
media analysts have cast doubt on the reportedly widespread nature of the game
and have labeled the trend, although not the attacks themselves, a myth. Liberal
analysts claim that their conservative counterparts falsely promote a view that
the "knockout game" trend is real and conservative analysts claim that the
liberal media does not report on it due to the racial implications it may have.
History of attacks = 1992–2009=
In September 1992, Norwegian exchange student Yngve Raustein was killed by
three teenagers who, according to Cambridge, Massachusetts, prosecutors,
were playing a game called "knockout". Local teens said that the object was to
render an unsuspecting target unconscious with a single punch, and if
the assailant did not succeed, his companions turned on him instead.
In 2005 in the United Kingdom, BBC News reported on the happy slapping
incidents, where the attack is filmed for the purpose of sharing online. The
French government responded to this trend by making it against the law to
film any acts of violence and post them on the Internet, with a spokesperson for
then President Nicolas Sarkozy saying the law was indeed directed at "happy
slapping". Three teens were arrested in Decatur,
Illinois, in September 2009, and charged in the killing of a bicyclist, 61, who
was stomped to death, and the attempted murder of another man, 46, who was also
attacked and stomped. It was claimed that the teens were playing "point 'em
out, knock 'em out", where a person is selected and a group of attackers
attempt to render the victim unconscious.
In June 2009, a 29-year-old man was beaten in a Columbia, Missouri, parking
garage by a group of teens who told police that they were playing a game
called "knockout king", where they would find an unsuspecting person and attempt
to knock him out with a single punch. = 2011–2013=
In April 2011, Hoang Nguyen, 72, died in St. Louis, Missouri, after he was
attacked in what was described by a local CBS station as "part of the
so-called 'knockout game'." Nguyen's wife, Yen, 62, was injured. After the
trial the assailant, Elex Murphy, a black teenager who was 18 at the time of
the assault, was sentenced to life in prison plus 25 years.
In July 2012, 62-year-old Delfino Mora was attacked by three black teens and
killed in West Rogers Park, Chicago. Anthony Malcolm, who recorded the attack
on his cell phone, the video of which was posted to Facebook, was sentenced to
30 years in prison. Two other teens were awaiting trial in September 2013. The
attack was said to be part of a game called "pick 'em out, knock 'em out."
In 2013, a series of these attacks resulted in the death of the victims,
all with some sort of game as a precipitating factor. Michael Daniels,
51, of Syracuse, New York, died a day after being attacked in May 2013, with
the "knockout game" later mentioned in regards to his death.
In Greater Manchester, Eden Lomax, 17, killed 43-year-old Simon Mitchell in an
attack he referred to as a "bomb"; in the investigation it was discovered
Lomax had performed other non-fatal "bomb" attacks in the days leading up to
Mitchell's death. Ralph Santiago, a disabled homeless
resident of Hoboken, New Jersey, was found dead after being attacked by three
black boys aged 13 to 14 whose assault was linked to the "knockout" game.
Yale Daily News reported seven attacks during November 2013 in New Haven,
Connecticut that could be associated with the knockout game. Yale
University's chief of police wrote an email to the campus community pertaining
to the issue on November 21. In the United States, The New York Times
noted "a growing log of reports of such crimes in the Northeast and beyond". A
number of news stories in late November 2013 covered incidents in Crown Heights,
Brooklyn, where a series of attacks took place during October and November of
that year. As a result the NYPD responded by stepping up patrols in
certain neighborhoods. On November 24, 2013, in Katy, Texas, an
elderly African-American man was attacked and hospitalized. Two weeks
later, Conrad Alvin Barrett was arrested after allegedly showing an off-duty
police officer a video he recorded with his cell phone of himself perpetrating
the attack, explicitly referencing "knockout". Investigators revealed that
there were other videos on his phone where he used racial epithets and
another in which he wondered if he would receive media attention if he were to
commit a "knockout game" attack on a black man. This was one of the first
cases where a black man was "knocked out." The subject plays mostly on blacks
knocking out the whites. The Justice Department subsequently charged Barrett
with a hate crime, for which he could receive 10 years in federal prison.
Barrett's attorney claims his client suffers from bipolar disorder and was
not on medication at the time of the attack.
Precipitating factors = Race=
In the coverage of the attacks in 2013, some political commentators have focused
on racial factors, alleging that the crimes are being committed primarily by
African-American youth and criticizing the media for ignoring the alleged
racial nature of these attacks. Bill O'Reilly of the Fox News Channel
described the "knockout" attacks as "another example of young black
Americans committing senseless crimes" and expressed disappointment at the lack
of media attention on the matter. In response to several reported
black-on-white attacks in 2013, Al Sharpton released a piece called
Knockout Games -- The Biggest Form of Cowardice, which condemned the attacks.
Sharpton noted the black community would not be silent if they were the victims.
= Antisemitism= Several attacks on Jewish victims in
Brooklyn in 2013 have been called antisemitic hate crimes. ABC Nightline
reported that New York City police believed that antisemitism was likely to
be a motive in the attacks, as all eight victims were identified as Jewish.
Jewish community leaders in Brooklyn have spoken out on the subject, and the
Anti Defamation League regional office issued a public statement on Knockout
attacks "targeting Jewish individuals in Brooklyn". Amrit Marajh, a 28-year-old
suspect in an attack that took place in Brooklyn, was charged with a hate crime
as his victim was Jewish, which has potential to greatly increase
consequences over a charge of simple assault. Marajh has claimed innocence
and denied the claims of antisemitism. On December 3, newly elected
African-American Democratic New York City councilwoman Laurie Cumbo added a
letter to her Facebook page saying: "The accomplishments of the Jewish community
triggers feelings of resentment, and a sense that Jewish success is not also
their success." The Anti-Defamation League said her post was "troubling" and
that it evoked "classic anti-Semitic stereotypes." Cumbo later apologised for
her remarks. NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly later stated that he was avoiding
referring to the attacks as part of any sort of trend to avoid further copycat
attacks and has instead been labeling them as hate crimes.
Response = Government action=
On November 21, 2013 Republican New York State assemblyman Jim Tedisco put
forward legislation called the "Knockout Assault Deterrent Act" explicitly
referencing "knockout" in order to charge juvenile offenders in these type
of attacks as adults, legislation would also punish those who were found
recording the attacks. Republican State Senator Hugh Farley supports legislation
that would make assailants linked to the "knockout game" liable for harsher
sentences, would try juvenile offenders as adults, and would make accomplices
criminally responsible. Democratic assemblyman John McDonald, while
admitting he feels stiffer penalties were warranted, said, however, that
Tedisco's bill was not necessary. Republican Wisconsin State Assemblyman
Dean Kaufert also considered drafting a bill to deter attacks.
= Communities= After incidents during late 2013 in
Brooklyn in which Jews were victims of knockout attacks, Jewish leaders,
councilmen, and organization representatives spoke against the
attacks. Leaders from the African-American
community also made statements, City Councilman Charles Barron saying that
the root of the problem was a need for jobs to keep young people out of
trouble; he also suggested additional funding for community patrols to act as
lookouts. Representative Hakeem Jeffries said at a Crown Heights Youth Collective
conference that attacks based on race will not be tolerated and that they will
do everything in their power to see justice is done. Brooklyn District
Attorney-elect Kenneth P. Thompson also called out the attacks, saying that
"there is no status to be gained" for knocking out an unsuspecting victim and
such violence will not be tolerated. Brooklyn Borough President-elect Eric
Adams affirmed Thompson's statement, saying "play this game, and you will
lose". Councilmember-elect Laurie Cumbo added that people's lives will never be
the same as a result, victims and suspects both, as she stated that
attackers would be "prosecuted to the full extent of the law".
Other notable New York City community members who have spoken out against the
attacks include Reverend Al Sharpton and Dov Hikind. Al Sharpton, Russell
Simmons, Foundation for Ethnic Understanding founder Rabbi Marc
Schneier, former NYC mayor David Dinkins and former New Orleans mayor and current
National Urban League president Marc Morial released a video in December 2013
saying "No to K.O." Retired Brooklyn-born boxer Mike Tyson has also
spoken against the attacks on The Piers Morgan Show.
Criticism of reporting The existence of a growing trend of
knockout attacks has been questioned; claims about the prevalence of the
phenomenon have been called an "urban myth" and a "type of panic." Some media
reports have specified that knockout attacks are "played" as a violent game,
having no concrete motives other than entertainment.
A June 2011 investigative report by John Tucker of the Riverfront Times following
the death of Hoang Nguyen in 2011 saw many related attacks, all attributed to
the "Knockout King" game. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief
Daniel Isom stated that a year prior the police determined that the knockout game
is played by a group of children who go around trying to knock random people
unconscious, the police estimated the activity was not widespread and limited
to five or nine teens. In Tucker's interviews with local teens they
believed the number to be much higher; one 18-year-old estimated 10-15% of his
peers played the game. A St. Louis area barber said that in his youth the
phenomenon was not called "Knockout King" but "One Hitter Quitter". Mike
Males of the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice claimed that the media
has been cherry-picking related attacks for sensationalism, asserting that "This
knockout-game legend is a fake trend." Police at the time, believed such
attacks might have been underreported by immigrant victims in communities where
relations with law enforcement have been tense.
An attack from 2012 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was tentatively linked to
more recent attacks, although it was never identified as part of any "game".
Police in Syracuse, New York, reported that one assailant in a fatal attack
admitted to its being "knockout", with a police sergeant noting that the assaults
he was investigating were definitely "for a game" rather than being attempted
murders or robberies. On November 23, 2013, The New York Times reported that
police officials in New York City were considering their position on the "game"
and were wondering if they should advise the public, but had to contend with the
uncertain existence of the game. Police in New York City questioned whether they
were faced with a trend or simply a series of isolated incidents. New York
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly refused to refer to the attacks in
Brooklyn as the "knockout game" to avoid possible copycat attacks.
Several assaults associated with the knockout game do not follow any
particular pattern; in several instances a single assailant attempted a one-punch
attack, while in others multiple assailants participated in a gang
attack. The "Knockout King" death of Nguyen in St. Louis was such a gang
attack, and an alleged trend in Lansing, Michigan, called "point 'em out, knock
'em out" involved the use of a Taser. Many officials have outright refused to
refer to the assaults as a "game", with Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter
explicitly stating he did not want to give the idea any credibility while at a
press conference after an attack at a Philadelphia pizzeria where the suspects
never mentioned the game following the event. In a CNN interview with Don
Lemon, Nutter stated he was not sure if the knockout game is real or not, adding
he less concerned about the name but saying the incidents are of "great
concern" and worries about a trend of copycat incidents. Nutter would not
answer if the attacks are racially motivated and stated that Philadelphia
has no confirmed "game" incidents. Earlier, Philadelphia Police spokeswoman
Tanya Little determined a November 11 attack as part of a knockout game.
Jamelle Bouie of The Daily Beast was also critical of the game's existence as
a trend, comparing its existence to the "wilding" assault allegedly at hand in
the Central Park jogger case and the often reported headlight flashing urban
legend. While he did not deny that several people were attacked and several
had died, he pointed out that attacks were not really rare, noting the FBI had
reported that there were 127,577 unarmed assaults in 2012.
Jesse Singal of the Columbia Journalism Review noted that several of the news
reports on the knockout game featured videos taken from the Internet without
any contextual evidence that the attacks were possibly related to the knockout
game. Many videos began with the victim already facing their assailant, rather
than the videos depicting the victim being blindsided by a random attack. He
also found one example where the attack did not take place in the United States
nor was the assailant a teenager following a viral trend; rather the
video depicted an attack in East London by a 35-year-old man who may have had
substance abuse problems or mental illnesses. When Singal approached
several local news stations, a representative from an NBC affiliate
responded saying that the footage had been taken from a shared pool of stock
footage that other NBC stations in the area were given, and generally if
footage is found to be inaccurate there would be a digital note concerning it.
The note was absent in the case of the London video for reasons unknown.
Singal's investigation led him to believe that people around the country
are being told a story that has not been properly researched.
Chris Hayes host of MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes gave the knockout game his
first annual "Over-Covered Stories of the Year" award, due to what he
perceived as excessive coverage by Fox News.
The assault perpetrated by Barrett has also caused some questioning in
reporting. AWR Hawkins writing for Breitbart.com believed that the
reporting of the white-on-black crime and the federal authorities' response
only highlighted the belief that the alleged trend of black-on-white attacks
was underreported by "mainstream media". Robin Abcarian for the Los Angeles Times
criticized this reporting style by a conservative analyst, saying that blame
was shifted onto the federal government. Abcarian also noted that Barrett
explicitly stated he was seeking a black victim, and postulated that he may have
been acting on this "lazy narrative that black teens were randomly attacking
white people". She also criticized the statement by Rev. Sharpton and the
conservative news sources who began supporting him after decades of
opposition. Tommy Christopher writing for Mediaite made note of Fox News'
James Rosen's report on the attack being misleading, noting claims made by Rosen
that it is the first such attack to be charged as a hate crime, when it is
simply the first under federal statute, noting the arrest of Amrit Marajh in
Brooklyn and the investigation of the assault on Taj Patterson, who claims he
was assaulted by a group of Orthodox Jewish men. Abcarian also criticized the
reporting of this attack as possibly being related to the knockout game
trend, as the alleged attackers sought out Patterson because he was gay rather
than because he was black. She also brought up a case of a fabrication of a
"knockout"-style attack, after the victim and her boyfriend revealed she
had lied that she was attacked at random by a stranger and instead he had struck
her, noting that the St. Louis Post-Dispatch did not report the initial
attack as a "knockout game" attack. Abcarian also noted that the 2011 attack
by the now 16-year-old Dajour Washington on 51-year-old James Addlesburger was
being used for sensationalism. The video of the assault was being shown by Bill
O'Reilly on Fox News, to which Addlesburger felt he was being exploited
and manipulated to fan racial hatred. Washington, who spent 9 months in
juvenile detention for the attack, appeared on Nightline in 2013 and
revealed that he had not attacked Addlesburger because he was white but
rather because he was the only man present and that at the time of the
attack he had never heard of the "knockout game".
References Further reading
King, Mike. "The ‘knockout game’: moral panic and the politics of white
victimhood". Race & Class 56: 85–94. doi:10.1177/0306396814567411.