EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — Official records show the man who apparently appears punching a female Patriots fan in the face at MetLife Stadium this weekend has a criminal past, but the man’s mother told CBS 2 his actions were in self-defense.

The video was taken at the stadium during or after the Jets’ 30-27 overtime victory on Sunday. A man identified as Kurt Paschke, 38, is seen in a No. 80 Jets jersey as he appears to punch a woman. The woman is wearing what appears to be a red and white Patriots jersey.

But as CBS 2’s Jessica Schneider reported, Kurt Paschke’s mother, Colleen Paschke, said her son was the victim and the woman attacked him.

See the video:



“She was the aggressor,” Paschke said. “She just came out of nowhere and started punching my son.”

Colleen Paschke was present when the brawl broke out. She said five Patriots fans, including two women, started fighting with her friends.

That was when her son jumped in to break it up, she said.

“He just went over to, just pull them off, you know, the guy and the girl, and that’s when they grabbed my son and started punching him,” Colleen Paschke said. “The one guy was holding him while the other guy was punching him.”

What she describes was not captured on video. But in the clip that has gone, Kurt Paschke is seen in the chaos when he suddenly gets pulled back. A blonde woman lunges at him and he throws a punch.

“She punched my son three times to the head, cut his eyebrow,” Colleen Paschke said. “You should never hit a girl. I understand that. But you know what? When the girls are out of control, how do you defend yourself?”

Kurt Paschke was interviewed by police after the fight, as were the other people involved. Initially, he was told no charges would be filed, but now, New Jersey State Police have only said the investigation is ongoing.

Kurt Paschke has a criminal history. In 2011, he was caught serving alcohol to minors while bartending.

And he served three years in prison from 1995 to 1998 on a conviction of criminally negligent homicide, according to information from the New York State Department of Corrections. He was convicted in 1995.

The New York Daily News reported Kurt Paschke was convicted of stabbing a 17-year-old to death behind a pizza parlor in Sayville. The Department of Corrections information only confirmed he was convicted of fatally stabbing a teenager.

But his mother said he was wrongly convicted.

“It happened many years ago when my son was only 17,” she said. “He was set up by a white supremacy group, and unfortunately, he ended up taking the blame for the stabbing of another youth.”

The mother hoped her side of the story would clear her son’s name in the incident.

Earlier, CBS 2’s Janelle Burrell spoke to football fans on Monday and they said they were disgusted by the incident.

“What I’m thinking is this, I’m 71 years old. I’m from the old school. A man never hits a woman,” said Ron Smith of Roseland, N.J.

“Wow, he was definitely … definitely drunk,” added Gary Rosetti of Saddlebrook, N.J. “He probably was just thinking defense because he wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Watching the out-of-control fans on video was stunning for die hard Gang Green supporter Jessica Carapella of Hoboken.

“Oh my God, nobody’s going to intervene and stop this?!” she said.

“Obviously there’s no excuse for a man hitting a woman, but she shouldn’t have been chasing him down either,” added Rachel Estes of Whippany, N.J.

The Jets said in a statement, “We are aware of the situation and we do not tolerate that behavior. Parties involved were detained and this matter is now in the hands of the New Jersey State Police.”

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