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Patriots fan Dale Mooney deserved better. He deserved to live out his days, go to Gillette Stadium, cheer on his team, and then head back home with his wife. He could’ve never imagined when he woke up on September 17th, he would lose his life in a senseless way.
Mooney, a 53-year-old New Hampshire resident, fell unconscious in the fourth quarter of the Patriots “Sunday Night Football” game against the Miami Dolphins. His death has been linked to a fight at the stadium.
Mooney could not be revived in the upper deck of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough and his wife was left heartbroken.
He was punched by a Miami Dolphins fan and fell unconscious, witnesses said. No one has been arrested or charged in connection with Sunday’s incident.
Mooney and a Dolphins fan were reportedly tussling during the fourth quarter of the game when his Patriots jersey was briefly pulled over his head, Pats fan and witness Joseph Kilmartin told NBC News.
“Once he stuck his back up, and you could see his head again, is when he got the two punches from the Dolphins fan,” Kilmartin said. “As soon as he was punched, he fell unconscious.”
Multiple witnesses who claimed to have seen the incident told local news outlets that Mooney was punched in the head by a Dolphins fan after a verbal disagreement.
On Tuesday, Dolphins running back Salvon Ahmed urged fans to donate to the GoFundMe campaign set up for Mooney’s family.
The fourth-year running back said, “Stuff like this should never happen, especially at a football game that we all love,” Ahmed wrote in a post.
Mooney’s wife, Lisa, told WFXT that she heard her husband was “taunted” by Dolphin fans before the alleged altercation took place.
The identity of the Dolphins fan who allegedly struck Mooney also wasn’t made public.
The investigation into Mooney’s death is ongoing.