(Warning: Super annoying audio contains NSFW language. Earmuffs, people.)
This video comes from a youth hockey game in Winnipeg, Manitoba this past Sunday and looks to show a referee suplexing a young player involved in an altercation towards the end of a tournament game.
More details from NESN:
Peewee hockey teams from the Brokenhead Ojibway First Nation and the Sagkeeng First Nation were playing in a semifinal game for a local tournament when a fight broke out in the ending minutes. As the referees pulled the kids apart, a Brokenhead player skated in front of the Sagkeeng bench and taunted the players, according to a report from Metro news.
Officials tried to break up the throng of players in front of the bench, while 12-year-old Kainen Bell appeared to slash the Brokenhead player and the two began throwing punches. Video of the incident shows a referee stepping in, and he appears to grab Bell from behind, taking him him down to the ice — with parents of the players yelling in the background. Bell suffered a broken wrist in the melee.
While I generally don’t condone referees getting physical with players – especially youth athletes – it looks to be pretty clear in the video that Bell was being kind of a punk and the ref was completely fed up with his antics. The tensions seemed to be settling down as the players were skating to their respective benches, at least until Bell slashed the other kid in the legs.
Regardless, this unfortunate scene could have been avoided had both parties handled themselves more maturely and kept their emotions in check.
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