- A father attacked two child referees at his son’s youth hockey game on Sunday, Feb.9
- In a video, the father was captured walking onto the ice and shoving two refs, age 12 and 14, onto their backs
- According to Fox 13 Seattle, 42-year-old Uriel Isaac Cortes Gonzalez was charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor charge
A father from Seattle has been charged after shoving two child referees at his son’s youth hockey game on Sunday, Feb. 9, at Kraken Community Iceplex.
According to ABC News, police say the man is being charged with assault after reportedly pushing the 12-year-old and 14-year-old kid referees on the ice.
In a video shared by the Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association, the man was filmed walking on the ice before shoving the two teens onto their backs.
The Seattle Fire Department tells PEOPLE a crew was dispatched to the ice rink where both of the kid referees were determined to be in “stable condition” and were not transported to a hospital.
Court documents obtained by Fox 13 Seattle, state that Uriel Isaac Cortes Gonzalez, 42, is being charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor charge.
Per ABC News, Gonzalez claimed in a police report that he had “acted in defense of his son” after an issue with a player on the other team.
He reportedly told authorities that “his son was punched and kicked for about 30 seconds” by the other player “and the referees did nothing to stop the assault.”
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While Gonzalez left the location before the police arrived, he was later pulled over at a traffic light. According to Fox 13 Seattle, his wife and son were in the car with him.
Per ABC News, he claimed he went “to defend his son and to break up the fight,” but according to the police report, “there was no fight at the time and the game was stopped.”
Fox 13 Seattle reports that many witnesses stated there was a fight between players that “lasted all of 10 seconds” and was broken up by referees.
Witnesses claimed the refs were speaking to officials about penalties when the father walked on the ice and shouted, “Get the f— off my kid!”
According to ABC News, Gonzalez didn’t realize “that the referee was a juvenile and said he would participate as needed for the investigation.”
On Tuesday, Feb. 11 the Kraken Community Iceplex condemned the events of Sunday.
“There is absolutely no place in hockey, or any sport, for the behavior that occurred on Sunday,” the statement read. “The Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association and USA Hockey are leading an investigation, and we have been assisting them since the incident occurred. The person in question has been banned from our facility.”
The ice rink continued, “Our Jr Kraken community has taken it upon themselves to begin a “Cool Down Challenge” on social media to remind everyone to respect referees. We are proud to support them and encourage others to participate.”
The Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association president, Jody Carpenter, also released a statement alongside the clip of the attack.
“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 — a 13-year-old and a 14-year-old. In my over 40 years in hockey, I have never witnessed anything so completely unacceptable,” Carpenter’s message read.
Carpenter added, “We ask all members of our hockey community to remember that respect for officials and sportsmanship are fundamental to our sport. If we fail to uphold these standards, we fail the game itself.”
PEOPLE has contacted the Seattle Fire Police Department for comment.
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