Patriots Fan Dies After Suffering 'Apparent Medical Event' During Game vs. Dolphins
Dale Mooney from Newmarket, New Hampshire died after an incident at Gillette Stadium.
A man who attended the New England Patriots vs. Miami Dolphins game at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night died after suffering an "apparent medical event" in the stands during the fourth quarter, according to Boston 25 News (per CBS Sports). Dale Mooney from Newmarket, New Hampshire was sitting in the 308/309 section when the incident happened. First responders rushed Mooney to a local hospital and was pronounced dead before midnight. He was 53 years old.
Mooney's wife told 7NEWS her husband didn't have a heart condition, but his father had heart issues. Detectives are "investigating the facts and circumstances of the man's death, including the sequence of events prior to the medical incident." The chief medical examiner's office will conduct an autopsy as part of the investigation. There are no charges currently in place.
Boston 25 News obtained a video of security breaking up a fight. Mooney's wife, Lisa, said her husband, a Patriots season-ticket holder for 30 years, was being taunted by several Dolphins fans during the game leading to a physical altercation, and that's when Mooney lost consciousness. "It looked like people grabbing and pulling at each other at first at some point in the guy in the Dolphins jersey punched the victim twice in the face and that's when the victim fell into his seat unconsciousness," witness Joey Kilmartin said. "The guy in the Dolphins jersey got hauled away by police and that's when everybody noticed something was wrong a minute or so later the guy still hadn't made any movement it really didn't look like he was breathing."
As for the game, the Patriots lost to the Dolphins 24-17 and fell to 0-2 on the year. This is the first time since 2001, the Patriots didn't win their first two games of the season, and it ends the NFL's longest streak. "I know it looks bad when you start [0-2], but this is not a bad team, so don't get to asking those type of questions," Patriots outside linebacker Matthew Judon said after the game, per ESPN. "I don't think we're about to hang our heads in that locker room."
"We need to be a lot more disciplined," Patriots tight end Hunter Henry said. "We've lost two weeks in a row, two close games, we fought back and had a chance there. But we're putting ourselves in positions too early in games, turning the ball over. We have to be better offensively."