Youth Basketball Dad Charged With Assault After Violently Shoving Ref In Game
Youth Basketball Dad Violently Shoves Ref In Game ... Charged With Assault
A youth basketball player's father has been charged with felony assault ... after video captured him barreling over a ref during his son's game last month.
Prosecutors in King County, WA. tell TMZ Sports ... 31-year-old Mark McLaughlin has been hit with one count of assault in the second degree after they say he violently knocked over a referee in a Dec. 16 altercation, causing serious injuries to the official.
According to court documents, authorities say McLaughlin became so enraged after refs touched his son following an on-court incident at a middle school basketball game ... he ran onto the floor and forcefully shoved one of the officials to the ground.
A dad in Washington state who's 6'6" and over 200 pounds assaults a 72-year-old referee at a middle school basketball game pic.twitter.com/61bH6LfxUV
— Fifty Shades of Whey (@davenewworld_2) January 5, 2022 @davenewworld_2
Video of the alleged incident, filmed by a fan in the stands, showed how the scene played out ... and it's disturbing.
The footage allegedly shows McLaughlin, who prosecutors say is 6 feet 6, 215 pounds, racing in from the bleachers and walloping one of the refs.
In the video, you can see the ref hit the floor hard -- and needed help getting up while the suspect stormed out of the venue.
In the court docs, officials say it took nearly an hour and a half for the ref's face to stop bleeding ... and say he was ultimately diagnosed with a broken nose and a broken cheekbone after he was checked out at the hospital.
McLaughlin was booked into jail on Dec. 17 and posted bail on Dec. 18, according to prosecutors. He pled not guilty to the charge at a court hearing on Monday morning.
McLaughlin is facing up to 10 years behind bars if convicted.
