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The concept of the "knockout game" popped up again this week in headlines to describe why a 21-year-old in New York City allegedly punched a 62-year-old man, knocking him onto the subway tracks. It was first suggested as an explanation by The New York Post, which cited unnamed police sources that speculated the suspect may have been acting because of the alleged challenge. Other media outlets soon followed suit.

"Knockout game? Man punched onto subway tracks in unprovoked attack," a suggestive headline from a local Fox News affiliate in New York states.

If the so-called "knockout game" may sound familiar, it's because tabloids and right-wing media over the years have repeatedly promoted the notion of young people engaged in a hyper-violent and widespread trend. The reality, as law enforcement officials and researchers have documented in the past, is that the "game" is largely an urban myth and buzzword that media have used as a catchall for random assaults.

Even after many have debunked the "trend" as mostly unrelated incidents with no connection to any online challenge or game, reports attributing the crimes to the "knockout game" have persisted. The phrase also has a racially-motivated history often deployed to describe young Black people committing assaults on white people, and experts say it has been used to stoke moral panic and play into racist rhetoric.

There's currently no documented evidence that the 21-year-old suspect in New York this week was participating in a game when he allegedly struck the man, who survived the attack. And although various incarnations of individual challenges to commit assaults have existed over the years, these have always been rare and fringe activities compared with the media attention that they receive.

Fear surrounding variations of the purported "knockout game" have existed in some form since at least the 1990s, Chris Ferguson, a Professor of Psychology at Stetson University, told Insider.

As with most moral panics, Ferguson said, the instances of these "knockout" assaults tend to be disconnected by data, "then people use anecdotes to make a case for a 'trend' even when, for instance, assaults by youth are overall declining."

Reports of "knockout game"-related crime date back at least a decade. While people have spoken out admitting to playing the so-called activity, according to NPR, there is no evidence that it has ever been a widespread or concentrated phenomenon.

More often, the phrase (and its variations, like "knockout" and "polar bear hunting") has reportedly been used as a kind of linguistic net to portray young Black people comitting assaults as part of a wider, panic-worthy epidemic.

Back in 2013, when the purported trend was gaining national attention and references in major publications, the New York Times reported that police officials from multiple cities were not sure if the alleged instances of the challenge were evidence of a coherent and real trend, or if the whole thing was just blown out of proportion.

A police official from Jersey City told the New York Times that there hadn't been any "knockout game" reports in the area and said "if there ever was an urban myth, this was it."

Commentary about the purported challenge has also circulated online. In 2014, Snopes debunked a surge of rumors "bouncing around blogdom" about a 60-year-old woman fatally shooting two people who allegedly tried to perform the knockout challenge on her. But as the fact-checking website reported, there were no reputable details or verifiable pieces of information about the incident; it appeared to be totally fake.

Outlets and police agencies have continued attributing crimes to the alleged knockout game in recent years. Before this most recent NYC incident, The New York Daily News reported that a retired NYPD police officer used the phrase earlier in October after a group of people allegedly attacked him unprovoked.

Ferguson said use of "knockout game" as a buzzword to stoke fear will probably continue forever. He cited the concept of "juvenoia" to explain why adults "tend to overestimate the dangerousness of youth," and especially ones from lower-income communities.

"Because we're talking about kids, the 'game' concept is catnip for older adults who think all youth think about is games and can only perceive things through that lens," Ferguson said. "Like most moral panics, some version of it is likely to continually surface."

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The Perennial Panic of the 'Knockout Game' Is Back in Headlines

The knockout game was down but clearly not out.

Four recent, unprovoked sucker-punch attacks across New York City the latest on a 74-year-old woman have signaled the return of the insidious game, a sicko street challenge where thugs attempt to render an unsuspecting innocent unconscious with a single blow, a law enforcement expert told The Post.

Knock-out games are back. The attack on New Yorkers is very real. We have to keep our heads on a swivel, said Michael Alcazar, a retired NYPD detective and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Its not only the mentally ill who are committing these assaults. There are individuals who are angry, bored and brazen, who know they are not going to be prosecuted.

At least a dozen of the social-media driven assaults done for online attention, kicks or gang initiation plagued the city in 2013.

While the NYPD said it doesnt track such knockout-type assaults specifically, this year there have been closer to 20 sucker-punch incidents, media reports show. Among them:

He simply punched me in the face, which luckily I managed to dodge. He hit me four or five times, Medina Vargas said.

Medina Vargas said he was also whacked in the head from behind July 7 while riding the Fourth Avenue subway line with his girlfriend in Brooklyn. In that incident, he lost consciousness for four to five seconds.

I am afraid to live in New York, he confided.

On Wednesday, a 74-year-old woman was slugged in the face in an unprovoked broad-daylight attack in Midtown. The senior was out of the hospital and feels OK, the victims niece, Josephine Abragan, told The Post Saturday.

Gayman Hillaire, 73, was blinded in his left eye by a sucker punch in Brooklyn in January 2020, cops said. Hillaire was walking near Kingston Avenue and Saint Johns Place in Crown Heights when he was slugged in the face by a stranger just after 11 at night. Im feeling OK, Hillaire told The Post Friday before declining further comment.

Whether the attacks are being carried out by the mentally ill or thugs with bad intentions, the states controversial bail reform laws are emboldening attackers, law enforcers said.

It doesnt matter if its a game or not. Its just the way the streets are now, said one veteran Brooklyn cop. Perps think they can get away with anything, and most of the time theyre right. We arrest them and they get right back out.

Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton who served the city from 1994 to 1996 and again from 2014 to 2016 said the incidents are not confined to the Big Apple, and are happening all over the country.

He blamed the current criminal law climate.

If the person is mentally ill, they go in for observation and they let them out, and if they are not mentally ill, they let them out even more quickly, Bratton lamented. Theres no consistency of punishment or consistency of treatment for the people who engage in this activity.

What I worry about is the copycat issue. People see it, see that nothing happens to the people who are doing it, and may be tempted to do it.

Additional reporting by Joe Marino and Georgett Roberts

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Brazen knockout game back in NYC, expert warns

Barcelona came within a few minutes of being knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday. Inter Milan came into the Nou Camp and put three into the net of a shaky Barcelona defense.

Late into the game, Inters Robin Gosens put the visitors up 3-2. However, Superstar striker Robert Lewandowski scored in added time to level the scoreline at. In doing so, he provided a lifeline, however narrow it may be, to Barcelona in the Champions League this season. Also, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen made a number of key and spectacular saves late on.

Despite the drama, the Catalans still face a massive uphill climb to qualify for the knockout round. In Group C, Barcelona sits in third with four points. Inter, which defeated Barcelona a week ago at San Siro, is three points clear.

Therefore, Inter Milan can clinch a spot in the knockout phase with a win over either Viktoria Plze or Bayern Munich. Inter now owns the key tiebreaker in the group stage, head-to-head record. Barcelona needs Inter to drop points in both games, home to Plze and away to Bayern in matchday six, to have a chance.

Barcelona learns its fate in the Champions League in two weeks time. Anything less than a win against Bayern and a draw or loss from Inter dooms the club to the Europa League.

Speaking of Bayern Munich, the Germans qualified for the next stage of the UCL with a 4-2 road victory against Viktoria Plze. Despite any domestic struggles, Bayern cruised along in the Champions League. The Bavarians have four wins from four games, scoring 13 and conceding two.

Not to be outdone, Napoli is perhaps the hottest team in Europe on current form. The Italians thumped a visiting Ajax side, 4-2. Just like Bayern, Napoli punched its ticket to the knockout stage with two games still left to play. Those four goals came from four different scorers. Hirving Lozano, Giacomo Raspadori, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen finished off the reigning Dutch champions.

The Italian club has now scored an astounding 17 group stage goals in just four matches so far this season. Overall, Napoli won 11 of its 13 games during the current campaign. The only two matches that they have failed to win were both Serie A draws.

Club Brugge also qualified for the knockout round as well. However, unlike the two aforementioned big clubs, the Belgian champions from a year ago will play a knockout game in the competition for the first time in team history.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Pressinphoto

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Inter push Barcelona to brink of Champions League exit - World Soccer Talk

The Under-19s beat Shakhtar thanks to goals from Palacios, David Jimnez and Julen Jon to ensure a top-two finish in Group F.

The Under-19s picked up another win in the UEFA Youth League matchday four. Palacios, David Jimnez and Julen Jon got the goals to clinch the three points against Shakhtar in a match that Real Madrid dominated from start to finish. This victory extends our youth team's lead at the top and guarantees them a top-two finish in the Group Stage. Should Arbeloa's side finish in first place, they will progress directly to the Round of 16. If they qualify as runners-up, they would have to play a knockout game against a side from the national champions' route.

The Under-19s kicked off on the front foot, not letting the Ukrainian team get out. The first real chance came following a first 20 minutes of Madrid domination, a free kick from Pol crashed against the left post. Arbeloa's side took the lead just two minutes later. The defence cleared the initial cross from Youssef, but Palacios picked up the ball and struck across the face of goal to open the scoring (22'). Scoring in four consecutive Youth League matches, the midfielder is now the team's top scorer with five goals.

In the second half, our youth team, kept up the same momentum and increased the lead thanks to a goal from David Jimnez. After good work down the left, Yeray played in the full-back who sent the ball home (55'). The Ukrainian team had the chance to pull one back, but Pieiro kept the ball out with two good saves. The Under-19s wrapped up the game in the 86th minute as Julen Jon made it 3-0, securing qualification for the next phase of the competition.

MATCH INFO0-Shakhtar Donetsk: Tvardovskyi, Rosputko, Faryna, Buleza, Savchenko, Yanovich (Bashmarin, 92), Yushchenko (Oharkov, 92), Losenko (Tsukanov, 77), Siheiev, Pushkarov (Lomaha, 92) and Pohorilyi (Smetana, 87).3-Juvenil A: Pieiro, David Jimnez (Alejandro, 82), Jacobo, Manu Serrano, Youssef, Chema, Manuel ngel, Palacios (Julen Jon, 82), Pol (Borja Alonso, 77), Yeray (Enrique, 77) and Gonzalo (Nico Paz, 70).

Goals:0-1 (min 22): Palacios.0-2 (min 55): David Jimnez.0-3 (min 86): Julen Jon.

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0-3: A win that sends them through to the next round of the Youth League - Real Madrid

Orlando City sank beneath the weight of bad bounces and defensive transition mistakes in an inconceivable 4-1 beatdown loss to Inter Miami CF at DRV PNK Stadium. The loss dropped the Lions below the playoff line with one match day remaining.

Starting in the games very first minute, awful mistakes cost the team and luck played a little bit of a role as well, as the Lions (13-14-6, 45 points) fell back below .500, fell below .500 on the road (5-6-6), and lost their fourth game in the last five since winning the U.S. Open Cup. Meanwhile, Miami (14-13-6, 48 points) climbed above .500 and clinched a postseason berth for the first time.

Leonardo Campana, Gonzalo Higuain (twice), and Ariel Lassiter did the damage on the scoreboard, but the Lions were honestly their own worst enemies in the first Tropic Thunder match that was decided by more than one goal. Ercan Kara pulled a goal back in the second half but by then the game was effectively over.

I know what these kinds of games mean for our fans and Im very disappointed not to perform the way we should, Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. In that part, I take responsibility.

I want to say sorry to our fans, because they come from Orlando to Miami to to push us and today was not so good for us, Junior Urso said.

Pareja rotated his lineup somewhat, playing Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Cesar Araujo played his customary stopper role next to a deep-lying Mauricio Pereyra, with an attacking midfield line of Benji Michel, Junior Urso, and Facundo Torres, with Tesho Akindele up top.

It took less than a minute for that lineup to break down. Smith somehow knocked a pass attempt off an opponent and the ball squirted in behind the Orlando center backs. Neither Carlos nor Schlegel went to get the ball so Campana ran onto it and chipped Gallese, who was off his line but not nearly far enough out to get to the ball before the Miami forward. Just over 30 seconds into the match, Orlando City trailed. (Warning: sound off is better, so you can avoid Ray Hudsons overblown, maniacal commentary.)

The Lions didnt respond well to going behind, despite getting a ton of possession. Orlando looked unsettled, consistently did nothing with set piece opportunities, and broke down in transition when there were chances to get numbers forward. Wayward passes from Torres, Akindele, and Urso and a couple of poor touches from Michel prevented some quality chances from materializing. The Lions did set up some half chances but did nothing with them.

Its normal when you start the game in the first minute just conceding the goal and then obviously, the other team with energy and with this momentum that they have, they take advantage of that situation, Pareja said. And then from there, our energy was doubtful and we were not precise in the movements, and then we started losing confidence.

Akindele tried to flick a pass from Smith on target but he didnt quite pull it off, slowing the ball too much and sending it off target. Smith sent a blistering pass through the six in the 18th minute, but there was no way Akindele could get to it in time and Michel didnt anticipate the pass quickly enough to get to the back post for the tap-in.

Higuain nearly got in behind in the 21st minute but Carlos did just enough to force him wide and Gallese chased him into the corner and knocked it out of play. Two minutes later, Campana got in for a first-time shot but just missed wide.

Moutinho smashed a shot well wide from the top of the area when a long throw fell to him. A failure to put shots on target was a problem Sunday at New York City FC and it definitely continued into tonight.

The hosts doubled the lead in the 38th minute on a weird transition as Akindele tried to force a pass into traffic. Miami came the other way and Schlegel got caught pressing high, giving the Herons a 2-on-1 break. Ariel Lassiter crossed in early to Higuain and his first touch was a shot past Gallese to make it 2-0.

Akindele s headed flick went just over the bar in the 43rd minute off a corner kick cross, which was the closest the Lions came in the opening half. In the final minute of the half, a good cross found Urso but he swung and missed at it and kicked DeAndre Yedlin instead.

Orlando City held more possession in the half (61.9%-38.1%), had more shots (7-4) and corners (2-1), and passed more accurately (87.3%-78.3%) but Miami got more shots on target (2-0) and both of those went in. It was the second consecutive first half in which Orlando failed to get a single shot on frame and the Lions had only one on target in its last three halves.

The Lions brought on offensive-minded reinforcements to start the second half as Pareja withdrew Akindele, Michel, and Smith, sending Kara, Ivan Angulo, and Ruan onto the pitch. The changes made Orlando seem more dangerous immediately. Angulo got in the box, made a good move to bypass two defenders and took a shot. The Lions screamed for a handball but Victor Rivas did not give it and a check by the video assistant referee maintained the call on the field. The only replay shown on the broadcast was inconclusive.

But Rivas wasnt opposed to giving Miami a penalty moments later when the Lions were bit again by a bad bounce. A ball in for Lassiter skipped up off the Miami forwards foot and hit Ruans arm at close range. The fullbacks arm wasnt extended unnaturally, nor was the play intentional, but the call was upheld again and Higuain scored on the ensuing penalty to make it 3-0 in the 53rd minute.

Three minutes later, Lassiter added to Orlandos misery with a shot just inside the right post, making it 4-0. Dont ask me why Carlos was trailing on the play, my stream froze a few seconds earlier and started back up right where this video begins.

Things got worse for Orlando City moments after the fourth goal when Carlos was booked, meaning hell miss Sundays regular-season finale against Columbus with a suspension for yellow card accumulation.

Its a little bit soon to answer it but we always have to think about whats next, Pareja said when asked if he had formulated a plan for the back line on Sunday yet with Carlos suspended and Robin Jansson injured. (The booking) was probably the thing that frustrated me the most. Its the lack of common sense from the referee. Its unbelievable. Their responsibility is to protect the game and they need to have the context of the players. And it was a very, very, very unnecessary yellow card, and thats what disappoints me. Not a good call for me, and it affects us not having Antonio, but we have to find a different answer and see how we can set out that back four. Somebody needs to do the job.

Kara spoiled Miamis shutout bid in the 71st minute, taking a pass from Torres at the top of the box, then turning and firing a well-placed shot just inside the left post. It was the big Austrians 11th goal of the season.

Ruan had a chance to set up Kara for another moments later. With Kara running free to his left, Ruan tried to chip a pass across to him over Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender. Unfortunately, he didnt quite get the pass high enough and Callender caught it to prevent the easy header at the back post.

Orlando squandered a late series of corner kicks and Ruan got deep into the box but sent a pass behind both of his teammates crashing the net and that was basically the end.

As a product of chasing the game for all but a few seconds of the match, Orlando finished with more possession (60%-40%), shots (16-6), corners (8-1), and passing accuracy (89.1%-83.4%), but Miami got more shots on target (4-1). Every shot on target in the match ended up in the net. The Lions now have one shot on target in each of the last two matches, which is just two on 29 attempts.

I dont know how to explain it, Urso said of the lack of precision. We had good passing, we had good combinations, but like Oscar told us we have to get more confidence in front of the target and to shoot well. I think we have to be more calm in front of the goal, but no excuses for us.

Were going to leave it there, were going to make our corrections, Pareja said. Weve got to move on. This is a quick turnaround. We have a possibility at home that nobody gave us. We fought for that one during the season and this opportunity belongs to us. Well see. If we dont beat Columbus then maybe we didnt deserve to be in the playoffs, but certainly we have a great opportunity at home to get our qualification.

The Lions have a knockout game in the final match of the regular season on Sunday, when the Columbus Crew visit Exploria Stadium. A draw wont be good enough unless Cincinnati somehow loses at D.C. United.

Read more:
Orlando City vs. Inter Miami CF: Final Score 4-1 as Lions in Free Fall with Another Loss - The Mane Land