Video of fight at Jets-Patriots game gets 4 banned from stadium

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Four people accused of roles in an altercation caught on video following a New York Jets-New England Patriots game in New Jersey are now banned from all events held at the stadium.

The Jets made the announcement Tuesday night, shortly after New Jersey state police filed simple assault and disorderly conduct charges against the three Massachusetts residents and a New York man.

The team said it has “zero tolerance for this behavior,” which it said violates its “Fan Code of Conduct.”

The four will be allowed to apply for readmission privileges once the legal process has run its course, but will have to meet certain conditions. The team said that includes the completion of an online conduct course and the submission of a written apology.

The charges were filed Tuesday afternoon against Amanda MacDowell of Marlborough, Mass.; Jaclyn Nugent and David James Sacco, both of Boston, and Kurt Paschke of Holbrook, N.Y.

MacDowell and Nugent allegedly kicked and punched Paschke. He then allegedly punched Nugent in the face. Sacco also allegedly hit Paschke in the face.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the three Massachusetts defendants had attorneys; phone numbers for them could not be found Tuesday night. Paschke’s attorney has said a full review of the evidence will vindicate his client.

The game was played Sunday afternoon at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

In comments made Tuesday before the charges were announced, Paschke’s father defended his son, saying he was defending himself.

“My wife is a breast cancer survivor and he brought her to the game to have a nice day and these people ruined it and now it’s being turned around like he is the aggressor,” Kurt Paschke Sr. told The Associated Press. “If you watch that video, you can clearly see he is being pulled back by one kid in a Patriots jersey while the other Patriots fans are smacking him in the face.

“I’m tired of hearing about you never hit a girl or punch a girl,” he added. “But if three girls are attacking you what recourse, you know if someone can come up with a reasonable recourse that he had, I will be glad to listen to it.”

The younger Paschke was convicted of criminally negligent homicide as a result of a 1992 stabbing outside a Sayville, N.Y., pizzeria, and was imprisoned from 1995 to early 1998, according to authorities and court records.