A video clip is causing an uproar online of the moment a pathetic parent bully parent absolutely flattens two kid referees in a 12U Hockey game in Washington. The appalling incident, shared on Facebook by the Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association, shows the man striding across the ice before violently shoving the two young refs over.
There are some video clips that, although brief, are so astonishing that they just demand repeat viewings. This footage, shared by the Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association, is one of those. In it, two young referees are in discussion during a 12U hockey game in Seattle. Suddenly, a large man strides up to the referees and barges them to the ice.
The Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association pointed out that the referees in question were just 13 and 14 years old. Quite rightly, the organization acknowledges hockey is a passionate sport, but “there is absolutely no place in our sport for the kind of egregious and outrageous behavior.”
Apparently, the man who committed the appalling offence was a parent, presumably aggrieved by some of the decisions made against his team. Of course, this gives him absolutely no right to physically assault anyone, and certainly not the cowardly bullying of children.
Many commenters on the Facebook post called for the parent bully’s lifetime ban from hockey games across North America. I personally agree with one person who said, “that guy should be arrested and charged with assault.” Such heinous and cowardly actions should have severe consequences, and not just a ticking off for “unacceptable” behavior.
The clip was also picked up on Reddit, drawing widespread condemnation. The video prompted users to share similar stories of unacceptable cases of parent harassment during children’s games. Of course parents will get passionate about sporting activities that their children participate in. But there really is no excuse for harassment of officials, and certainly not physical violence.
One Redditor echoed my thoughts on what should happen to the parent bully, quipping, “Straight to jail, Do skip Penalty Box.” Indeed. Maybe then the man would learn a valuable lesson. Unfortunately, the clip ends before we can see the cowardly man’s fate. I wouldn’t be at all surprised, though, if another parent gave the bully a taste of his own medicine.
