Image via Complex Original
It may be hard to believe, but while the youngn's are cultivating their athletic prowess in youth sports, there are coaches frequently getting into violent altercations with referees, fans hitting officials with sucker punches all too often and so on. It's a sad reality that tends to happen more than you would believe. The most recent occurrence came from Salt Lake City where soccer referee Ricardo Portillo was punched in the face by a disgruntled player over a yellow card. Sadly, Portillo died several days after severe swelling in his brain caused him to slip into a coma. In an effort to shed more light on a issue that goes fairly unnoticed, here's A History of Violence Against Referees in Youth Sports.
Michael Costin
Date: 7/5/2000
Location: Reading, Mass.
The man who murdered referee Michael Costin over a rough play in a hockey game scrimmage had a history of violence. In addition to killing Costin, Thomas Junta was issued a restraining order after beating his wife Michelle in front of their two children and another kid in 1991. The following year, he was arrested for punching a Boston police officer. With all that on his record, it's surprising that Junta only served eight years in jail after it was found that he beat Costin into a state of unconsciousness in front of his children, Costin's son and several others.
Marc Benavides
Date: 11/4/2006
Location: Corpus Christi, Texas
With only 10 seconds left in a youth football game between the Titans and the 49ers, 40-year-old coach Robert Watson attacked 18-year-old referee Marc Benavides. Watson punched, tackled and knocked the ref unconscious. Watson, who was charged with misdemeanor assault which is punishable to up to a year in jail, claimed that Benavides provoked him by "approaching him in an aggressive manner." He told authorities that Benavides cursed and refused to make a call on the opposing team in the waning moments of the game.
Randall Grass
Date: 9/8/2007
Location: North Ridgeville, Ohio
Pee Wee football coach Mark Klanac (pictured above) was pleading with referee Randall Grass to call a foul on a certain play. Grass refused, so Klanac responded by punching the ref in the back of the head. But Grass wasn't having that, so he turned around and retaliated by punching the coach in the face as well. Eventually, both guys were separated and Klanac was charged with disorderly conduct. He also received a small mark next to his eye which you can see in the above picture. You gotta respect a referee that actually stands up to the violence they receive every now and then.
Jim Hamm
Date: 12/13/2010
Location: DeSoto County, Fla.
After receiving a technical foul and getting ejected from a game against Port Charlotte, DeSoto County's Mason Holland flipped out on referee Jim Hamm, pushing him and body-slamming him to the hardwood. Obviously, Holland was suspended from school for 10 days and kicked off the team. He would later find himself in more trouble a mere five months later when he was arrested and charged with lewd and lascivious behavior after allegedly having sex with a 12-year-old girl. SMH. #youcantmakethisshitup
Olivia Harrington
Date: 3/2011
Location: Miami
"I officiate volleyball games, I don't look at stats, I don't want to know who the better team is or anything because I want to call a good, clean game." These are the words from referee Olivia Harrington, who was sadly pelted in the face by a Westminster Christian School player over losing a match. As a result, Harrington suffered a broken nose. But even after her facial injury, police didn't immediately arrest the youngster because they felt like the incident was "questionable." A person deliberately spikes a ball into a person's face, what's questionable about that?
Robert Kevin Waters
Date: 6/8/2011
Location: Newark, N.J.
Henry Milstrey (pictured above) wanted his son's Little League baseball game to be called early because of darkness. When umpire Robert Kevin Waters refused Milstrey's request, an argument ensued after the game reached its completion. The two eventually engaged in a fight and for some reason 16 other young kids—who had nothing to do with the game—joined in and left Waters with a fractured skull, lost of hearing in his left ear and two missing teeth. When the incident reached a trial, Milstrey took a plea of third-degree aggravated assault two days into deliberation because he felt that the jurors "weren't going to separate what those guys did from me."
Jamie Reed
Date: 8/27/2011
Location: Sarasota Couty, Fla.
Coaches on the Sarasota Gators football team felt as though referee Jamie Reed made a bad call against them. Obviously, arguments ensued as they always do, but things soon turned testy when a couple of the squad's coaches began attacking Reed. Then, out of nowhere, one member of the youth football team inexplicably tackled the ref. It was a scary scene which you can see in the video above.
Mike Harrington
Date: 12/27/2011
Location: Lowell, Mass.
Violence towards referees at youth sporting events happens everywhere. Even in a seventh grade basketball tournament, which is where referee Mike Harrington was punched by an individual in the stands, presumably over what the spectator believed to be a bad call. After inflicting the violent act on Harrington, the individuals fled the scene.
Andrew Keigans
Date: 10/13/2012
Location: West Park, Fla.
You'd think that a person who assumes the role of assistant coach of a youth football team would receive something like a background check. Maybe then, Florida's West Park Saints would've discovered the extensive criminal record of Dion Robinson, which included assault with a firearm, aggravated assault and a couple arrests for cocaine distribution. All this on his rap sheet, it should come as no surprise that Robinson would flip out on referee Andrew Keigans after the ref decided to hit Dion with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for derogatory comments. We don't know what's more saddening: Robinson's actions or the kids cheering it on.
Richard Nieuwenhuizen
Date: 12/2/2012
Location: Alemere, Netherelands
During a Dutch youth soccer match between Nieuw-Sloten and Buitenboys on Dec. 2, 2012, Richard Nieuwenhuizen—a volunteer lineman and a father of one of the players on the latter squad—was repeatedly kicked by a 50-year-old father identified as El-Hasan D and six members of Nieuq-Sloten. Nieuwenhuizen eventually died after sustaining severe head injuries. El-Hasan D was sentenced to six years in prison while five of the players were sentenced to two years in youth detention. Meanwhile, the other youth involved received one year.
Ricardo Portillo
Date: 4/27/2013
Location: Salt Lake City
Ricardo Portillo was simply doing his job as a referee for a recreational youth soccer league when he issued a yellow card to one player. Shortly after receiving the penalty, the 17-year-old player turned around and punched Portillo in the face. The 46-year-old was eventually taken to the hopital where it was discovered that he had suffered severe swelling in his brain. The doctors informed his daughter that only a miracle could bring him back. After seven days in critical condition, Portillo died.