A Sunday afternoon youth hockey match at Kraken Community Iceplex in Seattle, took a violent turn when video footage showed a parent climbing onto the ice and attacking the two referees. The referees were just 12- and 14-year-old boys.
The referees, who have not been named, are regulars around the iceplex, and they volunteer their time on the weekends to referee younger children’s matches. Seattle fire department medics treated them at the scene, but they were not transported to the hospital.
Just prior to the attack, the referees were breaking up a fight between players and discussing potential penalties. It was during this conversation that the parent climbed on to the ice and shoved both referees to the ground. In the video, the man can be seen pushing the youth referee when he has his back turned to him. Other parents immediately took to the ice to restrain the man.
The athletes involved in the on-ice scuffle did not report any injuries, but the parent believed he needed to step in to ‘defend his son and break up the fight.’ Other parents in the bleachers confirmed with multiple news outlets that the fight had been controlled by the time the man intervened.
Now, that father faces assault charges for his actions. According to Local12, “He allegedly later told police that he was not aware ‘that the referee was a juvenile and said he would participate as needed for the investigation.’” The Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association later announced that the parent has been suspended from participating in any PNAHA or USA Hockey-sanctioned event.
Jody Carpenter, president of PNAHA, told KOMO News, “This serves as a stark reminder of why maintaining a safe and respectful environment in our sport is so essential...there is no place for in our sport for this egregious and outrageous behavior that occurred during a 12U Rec game here in Washington, where a parent went on the ice and physically assaulted two young officials.”
Carpenter also spoke with the referees, and reported that, “They know it was a very extreme situation they were involved in. The one thing that does strike me or sticks with me is that they both commented they couldn't wait to get back on the ice to ref their next game.”
