Washington Man Arrested And Charges With Assault For Pushing Teenage Hockey Refs
No matter how many reminders they get, there are always going to be a few parents who take things way too far at their kid's sporting event, and we've had another one of those at a hockey game in the Pacific Northwest.
Now the culprit has been named and is facing charges.
According to KOMO News, during a game over the weekend at Kraken Community Iceplex in Seattle, 42-year-old Uriel Cortes walked out onto the ice and assaulted the two referees during a youth hockey game.
Those referees? They were 13 and 14 years old, and the entire incident was caught on camera.
Yeah, pretty disgusting.
According to reports, both teenagers sustained minor injuries in the incident, with one suffering injuries to their head and neck while the other suffered an elbow injury.
Cortes has been arrested and is now facing two counts of assault in the fourth degree. He reportedly told police that he went on the ice to defend his son who he claimed was being kicked and punched during the game.
The police report of the incident, however, describes the attack as "unprovoked" and that the video of the game did not show any kind of fight before the assault occurred.
The Kraken Community Iceplex — as you could probably surmise from the name and the fact that it's in Seattle — is the practice facility for the NHL's Seattle Kraken.
Speaking of which, the Kraken will reportedly welcome the two injured referees to an upcoming game following the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.
Kraken Community Iceplex COO Rob Lampman released a statement following the incident, and
Obviously assaulting a referee is never okay, but it's another level of low to assault two kids who are just trying to officiate a youth hockey game.
Just completely unhinged behavior, and it's actually something on the minds of legislators in the State of Washington.
A new bill, HB 1085, is making its way through the state legislature and takes aim at both verbal and physical abuse of athletic officials.