Uriel Isaac Cortes Gonzalez, 42, can be seen in a video walking onto the ice and shoving the referees at the 12U rec hockey game at the Kraken Community Iceplex in Seattle, the New York Post reported.
The footage was originally posted by Pacific Northwest Amateur Hockey Association (PNAHA) president Jody Carpenter on Instagram, showing Gonzalez shoving the referees, ages 13 and 14, as they stood on the side of the arena during a break in the game.
“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,” Carpenter wrote in the social meda post. “In my over 40 years in hockey, I have never witnessed anything so completely unacceptable.”
Police responded to the ice rink soon after the alleged assault, but Gonzalez had already left the premises. Police ultimately arrested him after stopping him at a traffic light near the Kraken Community Iceplex, according to the report.
Gonzalez told police that his son had been “assaulted” by a player on the other team and the referees had not taken any action. Gonzalez’s wife told police the same story and shared a video of the alleged incident with police.
However, police said they found no evidence his son had been assaulted and called Gonzalez’s actions “clear unprovoked.”
“There is no evidence that supports XXXX claim that he acted in defense of his son at the time of the assault,” according to the police report obtained by a local news outlet.
“Multiple direct witnesses and video surveillance corroborated the account of the victims,” the police report states. “XXXX assault on the two juveniles was clearly unprovoked and the conduct was especially egregious due to the size and age difference between the victims and the suspects.”
Gonzalez is facing two counts of assault.
Carpenter said the two referees who were shoved are “in good spirits.”
“They can’t wait to ref their next game. I’m very proud of them — very proud of the ref association up there in Seattle, of supporting these kids and making sure that they know that they’re not alone,” he told a local news outlet.
PNAHA suspended Gonzalez on Monday from taking part in any USA Hockey-sanctioned activity under its control, according to the report. The organization is also going to hold a hearing to assess whether “appropriate action is taken in alignment with USA Hockey policies and bylaws.”
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