Alabama fan dies from injuries sustained in bar fight after LSU game

A man described as an ardent Alabama football fan has died of injuries he suffered in a Louisiana bar after the Crimson Tide’s victory over LSU.

Robert Bowers, 46, had been on life support and died Tuesday of injuries he suffered being beaten and knocked unconscious early Sunday morning by two men at the Ponchatoula Pub, according to Ponchatoula police. Ryan Anthony, 24, of Albany, and Azia Crockett, 27, of Ponchatoula, turned themselves in to police and each was booked with felony manslaughter at the Tangipahoa Parish Jail in Amite, police said. Anthony had married Crockett’s sister hours before the incident, Police Chief Bry Layrisson told Nola.com.

Although Bowers, a Louisiana resident, was a Crimson Tide fan, police indicated that the fight was not over the Saturday night football game. “We really don’t know what started the verbal argument,” Layrisson said, telling the Advocate that Crocked and Bowers were arguing when Anthony “blindsided” him. Bowers’s daughter, Alexandria, said that she had gone to the bar to watch the game with her father, boyfriend and a female cousin, but that she left early.

Alexandria Bowers told Nola.com that witnesses said the fight started when someone took issue with the cousin’s interaction with a woman at the bar. The cousin was escorted out by security before the incident, according to Layrisson. Anthony allegedly struck Bowers, who fell to the floor and was unconscious, then Crockett alleged struck Bowers a number of times, according to Layrisson.