Rivalry Returns To Arena -- Garfield, Franklin Renew Basketball Feud Tonight

Shamala Brooks did not shoot a basketball or step on the court, but she may forever be linked with the famed Garfield-Franklin boys basketball rivalry.

The high-school rivalry is one of the oldest and most chronicled in Seattle. Its former stars include ex-University of Washington standout Levi Fisher, King County Councilman Larry Gossett and Ray Jones, the Metro League assistant athletic director.

However, Brooks may have made the biggest impact on the game.

The compelling photographs of her in a hospital bed on the covers of the city's two major newspapers are what may have permanently altered the course of the Garfield-Franklin basketball showdown.

Two years ago, Brooks and a friend, Rakisha Miller, attended a Garfield-Franklin game and were injured as hundreds of fans rushed to the court and trampled them in a premature celebration.

Police estimated that more than 2,000 people crammed inside Franklin High School's gymnasium.

In the ensuing days, Franklin Principal Sharon Green was outspoken in getting the game moved out of the high schools and into a larger venue.

The game will be played tonight at the Seattle Center Arena for the second straight year, starting at 7:30. It features No. 2-ranked Garfield (12-1) vs. No. 3 Franklin (12-1).

"I don't know if it will ever be played in the high schools again," said Jones. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Brooks, 16, and Miller, 17, were taken to Providence Medical Center after the 1993 game. Brooks was treated and released for a cracked pelvic bone and Miller had a sprained leg and bruised pelvic bone.

Miller was quoted after the incident saying: "I thought I was going to die."

The two girls were caught in the middle of a throng of fans rushing to the floor after a Garfield player apparently scored a basket with seconds remaining, which seemed to give the Bulldogs a dramatic victory.

They were sitting in the sixth or seventh row, but were pushed into the first row with what seemed like 30 or 40 people on them, they said.

"That certainly had a lot to do with the game being moved," Jones said. "The No. 1 issue was safety."

There were no incidents during or after last year's game at the Arena, a 77-48 Garfield victory.

Metro officials have considered moving other games to the Arena; however, it is unlikely.

"No other game attracts that many people," Jones said. "Maybe Garfield-O'Dea, but we can't do that."

The Metro League, the athletic governing body of the Seattle Public Schools, has no jurisdiction over the site arrangements made by private schools such as O'Dea.

The girls basketball game between Garfield (6-7) and Franklin (9-3) will also be played tonight at the Arena, starting at 5:45 p.m.