Talk about technical fouls, three referees at a Colorado youth basketball game were involved in a serious brouhaha right in front of the 4th graders who were competing.
“Oh my goodness,” a man can be heard saying in the video clip capturing the violence — take note that the man did not put forth any effort to put a stop to the carnage.
A game between Cherry Creek and Legend Blue was underway according to the clip — Legend Blue was getting pounced 33-15 — when two referees began fighting with a third referee. The man being attacked is thrown to the floor and as he battles one of the assailants others step in to prevent the third referee from engaging in the melee.
Uhhh, real life at my sisters kids bball tourney…. Kids close your eyes pic.twitter.com/sELdSjKosX
— Tyler Polumbus (@Tyler_Polumbus) December 11, 2023
The two zebras on the ground regain their footing, raising their dukes to square off before other adults in the gym descend on them to break up the nonsense.
All three men were suspended indefinitely from the league, according to the Gold Crown Foundation, which is responsible for the youth sports programs.
The foundation said in a statement: “Through our in-house camera system we were able to identify everyone involved and our staff removed all three officials from the premises. We have informed these independently contracted officials that they are suspended indefinitely from working for Gold Crown Foundation.”
“Most importantly we apologize to everyone that had to witness their unacceptable behavior – especially the kids. We hold all parties in our programs to very high standards, which in this case, were clearly not met. This is an unfortunate reminder that we all need to keep the kids best interest in mind and that our adult behavior plays a pivotal role in youth sports,” the organization continued. “Let this also be a reminder to everyone that Gold Crown has zero tolerance for any adult behavior that puts the kids experience or safety at risk. Again, our sincerest apologies to everyone who had to witness the incident this morning. We look forward to getting our league back on track, and resume what will be a great season for the kids.”
And we wonder why today’s youth is so unruly?
Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
Throwing hands at a 4th grade game? Pathetic. Do better adults. ♂️
— Bear Claw Media (@BearClawMedia) December 11, 2023
What type of foul leads to refs fighting each other???
— John Henry Decker (@deckerjh) December 11, 2023
Don’t see that often though! Ref on Ref ♂️
— Big O (@steveoman89) December 11, 2023
lol, big dog wouldn’t put the ball down to help break it up.
— Dr. Krusher (@DrKrusher) December 11, 2023
I did not have fellow refs attacking refs on my bingo card.
— J Mondo (@Jmondo1017) December 11, 2023
Bad scene…unfortunate for kids. Gold Crown does a great job..not a reflection on them. Sure they will handle it appropriately.
— SmallBaller (@denverrefugee) December 11, 2023
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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