Working as a referee in any sport is typically a thankless job. Not only do officials have to deal with constant gripes from players and coaches, sometimes families get involved when they feel personally victimized by a controversial call.
That’s exactly what happened during a recent junior hockey game when one player’s brother was so unhappy with a call against his sibling that he decided a verbal assault just wouldn’t do. Instead, he weaponized a beer can and drilled the ref straight in the testicles.
Referee Dominic Bedard took a beer can to the nuts a few nights ago after giving Francis Perron a penalty in the QMJHL. Perron’s 29-year-old brother threw a beer at the ref and it hit him square in the nether regions. He was later arrested and could be charged with assault with a weapon.
First things first, that’s one hell of a throw. I’m not quite sure how much beer was inside that can at the time it was chucked, but judging from how fast it went whizzing into the ref’s jewels, I’m willing to bet it had a good amount of liquid weight propelling it. In fact, it looks like it could have even been unopened. Regardless, that’s a one-in-a-million toss with pinpoint accuracy. Gotta give credit where credit is due.
But, listen, great throw or not, this is a pretty horrible reflection of character. I don’t care how much you disagree with a call, taking it personally and using it as an excuse to assault a ref by a hurling a heavy projectile at him is not only sad and pathetic, it’s dangerous as hell. Like, this ref is lucky if he escaped without some serious damage to his homeboys. And imagine if the can smoked him in the head? We could be talking about even more serious charges.
Families who get overly involved in the athletics of their children/siblings are some of the most unbearable people on the planet. I hate to pull the “it’s just sports” card, but sometimes it’s just sports. Respect each other’s nuts.
(Via HockeyWebCast)
