‘No excuse’: Hockey world reacts to father assaulting two teenage referees during game

A Seattle hockey dad faces charges after assaulting two teenage referees in a game last weekend. (Pexels)

A 42-year-old Seattle-area man has been charged with assault following a police investigation into an on-ice incident at a hockey game where two teenage referees were attacked on the ice.

Seattle Police Department officers and members of the fire department were called to the Kraken Community Iceplex in Seattle, Wash., just before noon on Feb. 9 for reports an irate parent had pushed a ref.

There were two victims who were both assessed on scene, fire officials confirmed to CTVNews.ca. Neither required transport to hospital.

On Tuesday, Uriel Isaac Cortez Gonzalez of Renton, Wash. was charged with two counts of assault in Seattle Municipal Court.

Video of attack shared widely on social media

Video of the incident, released by the Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association (PNAHA), shows the man shoving both on-ice officials. One referee’s head appears to hit the ice as a result of the push. The boy suffered a sore hip and a stiff neck, but, according to police, remained conscious.

The video recording of the encounter shows the man entered the ice during a stoppage in play and while the on-ice officials were speaking with the off-ice officials.

In a social media post attached to the video, the president of the PNAHA confirmed the assault occurred during a 12U rec game and that the referees were 13 and 14 years old.

The man had left the facility before officers arrived but police, armed with his description and that of his SUV, caught up to the vehicle at a red light a few blocks away.

According to the police report, the suspect told the officers during the traffic stop that his son had been repeatedly punched and kicked by an opponent for about 30 seconds and the referees had not intervened.

He said he entered the ice to defend his son and break up the fight, and admitted to pushing the referee while instructing him to do something about the fights. The man also claimed he didn’t realize the age of the refs.

He was not taken into custody by police following the traffic stop.

The responding officer, in their report, said the “assault on juveniles was clearly unprovoked and the conduct was especially egregious due to the size and age difference between the victims and the suspect” and “probable cause exists for two counts of misdemeanour assault” should the prosecutor bring charges forward.

‘No excuse for this type of conduct’

Jody Carpenter, PNAHA President, said in a statement the decision to share the disturbing video on social media was made as “a stark reminder of why maintaining a safe and respectful environment in our sport is so essential.”

“Hockey is a game of passion, but there is absolutely no place in our sport for the kind of egregious and outrageous behavior that occurred during a 12U Rec game here in Washington, where a parent went onto the ice and physically assaulted two young officials.

“In my over 40 years in hockey, I have never witnessed anything so completely unacceptable.”

Carpenter, in the post, said USA Hockey’s Zero Tolerance and Safe Sport Policies exist to protect players, officials, coaches, volunteers, and spectators alike, and that the league is actively investigating this incident and working with authorities.

“There is absolutely no excuse for this type of conduct, and it will not be tolerated at any level or for any reason.”

Late Monday night, the PNAHA announced that the individual involved has been suspended from all USA Hockey-sanctioned activity within the jurisdiction of PNAHA including games and practices.

‘If it wasn’t all captured on video?'

Jeff Marek, the host of The Sheet hockey podcast and a veteran hockey reporter, broadcaster, analyst and panelist, was horrified as he watched the video of the attack.

“I’ve never seen anything like that on the ice before, and I’ve been a hockey fan going back to my earliest memories, like 1975 or ’76,” Marek told CTVNews.ca. “I’ve seen a lot of things, but I’ve never seen a parent hit the ice to physically attack two young teenage officials on the ice last night.

“(My reaction) was a mix of disgust and shock.”

Marek has spent countless hours in rinks across North America and is no stranger to minor hockey as his sons currently play U15AA and U13AAA for teams in Ontario.

It came as no surprise to Marek to see on-ice officials in their early teens, a common occurrence in house-level hockey, but he was stunned by the parent’s unwavering desire to physically confront the refs.

“There’s no way to justify it whatsoever,” said Marek. “There are plenty of opportunities for this individual to stop.

“Once you make that decision to step on the ice, that is a decision. Once you make that decision, you’re going by the bench (where) people are telling you to stop and then you make the decision to physically touch these two children.”

Marek says the impact of the man’s actions will have a lasting impression on the two young teens who were assaulted and could dissuade others from signing up to be refs.

“These kids may be OK physically, but there’s a mental scar that is going to live with them for a long time. They were trying to do their job. These are very, very junior officials trying to officiate what is the toughest sport in the world to officiate and they got attacked.”

Marek credits the introduction of livestream broadcast cameras in arenas across Canada and U.S. for bringing this on-ice attack to the forefront and opening conversation.

“I’m really glad there were cameras there. I think one of the smartest things that we’ve done in hockey is have cameras at the overwhelming majority of rinks.

“This video went through the hockey community fast. And I don’t want to think about what the conversation is, or what would have happened, if it wasn’t all captured on video. So I’m glad there was video of all this.”

Marek hopes the circulation of the video will lead to improvements in referee safety.

“The decision to hit a child in front of an audience is revolting,” said Marek. “It does make you wonder and think about all the other times that this has happened, maybe not on the ice, but we’ve seen altercations (with) officials in the lobby of arenas, in the parking lot of arenas.

“We don’t have to agree with every call but until I see a perfect hockey player, I don’t expect to see a perfect referee,” he added.

Kraken committed to maintaining a ‘safe place’

The NHL’s Seattle Kraken, which operate the community iceplex, issued the following statement to CTVNews.ca on Monday afternoon regarding the incident.

“The Seattle Kraken and Kraken Community Iceplex work hard to ensure the Iceplex is a safe place for everyone. We are deeply disappointed in this behaviour, and are working with local legal authorities, Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association, and USA Hockey to address the incident.”