6 days ago
Manly Sea Eagles vow to crack down after horror fan footage
The Manly Sea Eagles have condemned fan behaviour that was posted to social media on Monday.
The footage, posted to the creaturesofmanly Instagram account, shows fans on the hill at 4 Pines park partaking in the controversial 'Run It Straight' challenge.
The activity sees opponents charging at each other with the objective to either successfully tackle the opponent or run them over in a hard-hitting collision.
On Saturday night after the Sea Eagles had defeated the Brisbane Broncos, fans decided to turn the steep hill into their arena.
Fans slowly trotted down the hill as others waited at the bottom to tackle them with countless people watching on and cheering.
One man slammed down his drink before taking off down the hill where he was flattened by another individual.
Another was hit just as hard while a third carried so much speed he bowled into the crowd at the bottom who all had their phones recording the chaos.
The Sea Eagles have vowed to step up security with club CEO Tony Mestrov thankfully nobody was seriously injured.
'It's crazy that people will do this type of thing when they know how dangerous and potentially life-threatening it is,' Mestrov said to The Sydney Morning Herald.
'We will ensure our security is more vigilant in patrolling this outside zone after full-time, at all future home games.
'Any spectators who breach our rules by engaging in this type of behaviour will be banned. Full stop. As a club, we will continue to make the match day experience at 4 Pines Park one that is safe and enjoyable for all.'
The footage of Manly fans doing the controversial activity comes after teenager Ryan Satterthwaite died last week while playing the game with friends in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
The 19-year-old was taken to hospital by friends but passed away a day later.
Leading sports neuroscientist Dr Alan Pearce told that it was sadly 'only a matter of time' until the viral sport took a life and says if it continues this won't be the last time it does.
'This was a matter of time really as sad as that is to say,' Dr Pearce told
'The concern is that this can happen at any level. Even in the sanctioned 'run it' events someone will probably die in that at some point as well.
'It can't be done safely and when there's kids and teens that see it they like to copy what they see online, and this is something that absolutely not should be copied.
'It is the biggest please do not try this at home disclaimer if I've ever seen one'.
'RUNIT' has become an online viral sensation over the past few months, and has attracted tens of millions of views on various social media platforms.
Videos of the heavy collisions started doing the rounds on social media in January, with 'Run it Straight Official' and 'RUNIT Championship League' turning the trend into a business.
'I just cannot understand how they could take the most violent aspect of sport (contact) and just turn it into a spectacle where the objective is just to try and knock out or hurt your opponent,' Dr Pearce told earlier this year.
