Going into the stands...(with a twist to the story)

[Raymond]

VIRGINIA BEACH - Tallwood forward James Shambley has been suspended from the team for at least a week after he went into the stands during the Lions' 74-61 loss to visiting Kempsville on Tuesday night.

Shambley was ejected from the game for leaving the bench to confront a fan he thought was going to harm his father, Melvin Lee Odom Jr.

Odom Jr. was sitting among a group of men who got into a disagreement about the officiating of the game.
"The young man (in the stands) got tired of the two other guys talking about his father, who happened to be officiating the game," Odom Jr. said. "So he stood up to defend his father. I put my hand up to tell the young man it wasn't worth it, but then he started going toward them."

Watching the whole thing was Shambley.
"From the bench, James said it looked like the man was standing over atop of me and was getting ready to hit me," Odom Jr. said. "He was concerned and came up to defend me."

Shambley, a 6-foot-4 senior, was restrained by his brother, Melvin Lee Odom III, who escorted him out of the gymnasium.
"When my son saw James come up, he tackled him from getting up there," the elder Odom said. "He later said he did what he thought the police officers should have done."

Tallwood coach Tom Gunsalus was talking to his players during a huddle when he saw what unfolded.
"James went around the end of the bench and ran up in the stands," Gunsalus said. "He returned to the bench 30 seconds later, but by then, it was too late. He already made the mistake by leaving the bench. As soon as he put one foot in the stands, that was it for him."

Under Virginia High School League rules, when a player leaves the bench, it's an automatic ejection and one-game suspension. Shambley served that suspension Wednesday night against Cox. But his suspension was extended because of the attention it has drawn.

"We agree with the decision," Odom Jr. said. "We told James that it wasn't right that he left the bench. But he thought I was going to be hurt and he was trying to stop it."

"It's one of those unfortunate situations," Gunsalus added. "Hopefully, we can move on."
The incident followed a lengthy delay in which a Tallwood student was escorted from the gym by police officers and sheriff's deputies after a disturbance in the stands. No charges were filed against the student, said Nancy Soscia, a Virginia Beach Public Schools spokeswoman.