Paul Stewart: A Sad Day for Hockey

Speak it loud!! The line must be re-drawn and all those who cross it should be punished accordingly. This isn’t the stone age. Get with it, or get out!!

I just watched the video.

It would have been nice if the ref tuned him up but then there would be a Domi-Pounds-a-fan law suit.
The best outcome would be, after the obligatory phony apology from the coach, this moron gets arrested, charged, convicted, fined and sued.
Make him pay for thinking he's a tough guy (The Ref is 60 years old!)
And the players who tapped their sticks should be banned for a year minimum.

Sickening, and it sadly happens in more sports than hockey.
As I try to recruit officials for the sport of soccer in Western PA, I frequently come across a common reason from those who decline: I cant stand the behavior of the fans or coaches....
When is enough enough? We as officials constantly get criticized by our governing bodies for having "too many ejections" meanwhile, in actuality, we have not ejected enough! If we dont deal with the behavior, we tacitly accept it, but if we do deal with it, we get labeled as an official who cant get along...
It is sad to think that someday, we may not have enough officials to cover the games, and that someday will be sooner than anyone thinks....

Stay safe out there everyone.

I occasionally work with a guy who was a referee for youth sports, mostly football and basketball. I say 'was' because he decided to retire early, probably 5-6 years sooner than he would've liked to. Why? Because of out-of-control idiot coaches and parents. It's a shame.

Thanks for mentioning Badger Bob.

ultimately this is a game, I never reached any sort of level, but played rec into my 40's. We played for fun, everyone had to work the next day. Sometimes we'd play against a d-bag with a chip on his shoulder, who usually would settle down when someone said something to him. Its a game, at any level, its just a game.