A Washington father stormed over to two young refs and pushed them to the floor in an unprovoked attack during a youth ice hockey game.
Videos by Wide Open Country
On Sunday, Uriel Isaac Cortes Gonzalez, 42, was recorded walking over to two young refs at the Kraken Community Iceplex in Seattle during a 12U rec hockey game. Without any other interaction, he pushed both of them to the floor.
They were aged 13 and 14, according to the Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association (PNAHA). The association shared the video, clearly showing the man pushing them over. KOMO also shared another angle of the incident in an extended video, showing the aftermath.
"Hockey is a game of passion, but there is absolutely no place in our sport for the kind of egregious and outrageous behavior," wrote PNAHA President Jody Carpenter. "In my over 40 years in hockey, I have never witnessed anything so completely unacceptable."
The police arrived at the rink, but Gonzalez and his wife had already left the establishment. According to KOMO, both refs got treated on-site. One suffered an elbow injury, and the other sustained a hip and neck injury.
Father Charged After Pushing Over Two Young Teens
KOMO further reported on the man's arrest and charges. According to a police report, Gonzalez was stopped at a traffic light a short distance from the arena.
Outlandishly, Gonzalez said that he stepped into the ring to defend his son who was playing in the game. He told police that his son was getting punched and kicked for about half a minute as the refs stood by doing nothing.
Gonzalez alleged that he stepped into the ring to break up the fight.
Quite the tall tale considering what really happened.
His wife backed up his claims, but they were opposed by video footage and the dozens of witnesses. In the police report, they deemed that the assault was "clearly unprovoked and the conduct was especially egregious due to the size and age difference between the victims and the suspects."
He has been charged with two counts of assault in the fourth degree, according to the outlet.
