Outrage as eight-year-old cancer survivor pushed down stairs

There has been outrage and extraordinary action taken after a cancer survivor’s dream experience turned into a nightmare.

It should’ve been a night to remember for Mia DeCamilla, a young 49ers fan and cancer survivor who was attending her first NFL game Monday morning (AEDT).

And it will be, but for all the wrong reasons.

DeCamilla was shoved out of her seat and down the stairs in Highmark Stadium in Buffalo by an allegedly drunk Bills fan during the team’s win over San Francisco, her family has told WIVB, a TV station in Buffalo.

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Though the eight-year-old fan was not physically hurt, her family said they decided to leave the game after the altercation.

Police were alerted, though the family opted not to file a report, The New York Post reports.

A Rochester native, DeCamilla said she inherited her 49ers fandom from her father.

“Me and my dad, [when I’m] in the hospital, we’ll watch football together,” DeCamilla said. “And then when I come home, sometimes for breaks. I will sit down and just relax and watch football all day. That’s what I like and how I made my team.”

DeCamilla has battled — and beat — liver cancer twice. Since reaching remission for the second time in May 2023, she’s been featured by WIVB on the station’s “Shine Gold” segment, helping to raise money for other children battling cancer.

On Monday, DeCamilla arrived at the winter-strewn Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park in style — decked in 49ers red and sporting a hand-drawn sign that read, “I beat cancer! My first NFL game!”

Mia DeCamilla was attending her first NFL game. Photo: Twitter, 13WHAM.

The family was seated in section 312 and saw the rude fan making his approach, Mia’s father, Mike DeCamilla, told WIVB.

“He said, ‘I’m going to push through all these Niner fans,” the elder DeCamilla said. “He actually bumped me and my son a little bit and then got past me and pushed her. [She] almost slid off the stairs…

“He had to be six foot, and she is less than 100 pounds … I know that there’s competitiveness and whatnot, but there’s a point where it’s a family event.”

His daughter, though emotionally disturbed by the incident, didn’t let it ruin her night.

“My favourite part was getting to see Brock Purdy,” she told WHAM, an affiliate station in Rochester.

“He’s my favourite player and I have his jersey, too.”

The story has caused outrage.

One American commentator wrote: “This cancer survivor got pushed down the stairs at a the bills game last night. I’m furious.

“Mia DeCamilla beat cancer and wanted to go to her first football game and it ended poorly.

Great game to go to, but what horrible fans. Bills mafia should be ashamed.”

As DeCamilla’s story picks up traction across the internet, Buffalo fans have rallied to show the family support and dispel the notion that one fan’s antics are representative of the fanbase as a whole.

Bills mafia are world-renowned for their rabid fandom and their bare-chested table pummeling, but also for their compassion and charitable endeavours. And those efforts have never been confined to Western New York.

Antonio Brown Photo: Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images/AFP.

The family left the venue. Photo: Twitter, BillsMafia.

Ever true to form, hundreds of Buffalo supporters have donated to a GoFundMe page, the “DeCamilla Family Fund,” which was organised to ease the financial burden of Mia’s treatments. As of Tuesday morning, the fund has reached over $20,000 from nearly 750 donors.

Retired NFL cult hero Antonio brown is among those that have been moved by the story and has been active in trying to rally support for her and the family.

“Is it true this little girl got thrown down the stairs at the Bills game,” the Super Bowl winner posted on X, formerly known as Rwitter.

“Someone get me in contact with Mia’s family please. I want to get her some gear.”

Journalist and Buffalo supporter Kate Glasser also expressed regret at seeing a fan of her team act in that fashion.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this but a rowdy and rude Bills fan pushed Mia down the stairs in their section 312,” she posted.

The team’s active, official supporters group Bills Mafia, also went to work to help the family.

The support group’s co-founder Del Reid posted on Twitter that the family told Glasser “they’d been harassed by the individual plenty during the game before this happened”.

He also posted: “So sorry to hear about Mia’s experience at the game yesterday.

“We all know one bad apple can ruin the bunch. Let’s show Mia that her experience yesterday is NOT what #BillsMafia is about.”

— This story originally appeared on The New York Post and has been republished with permission

Originally published as Outrage as eight-year-old cancer survivor pushed down stairs