The referee never saw it coming.
Albert Peyton Coffin was working an eighth-grade basketball game in Kenmore, Washington when a brief skirmish broke out just after the final buzzer. Suddenly, the father of one of the players, a 6-foot-6 former college basketball player, charged onto the court, yelling, “No one touches my son.” He rammed his forearm into the back of the 72-year-old Coffin, knocking him face-first onto the hardwood, breaking his nose, cheekbone and two ribs, according to court records.
The December 2021 incident alarmed interscholastic sports officials in Washington. For years, they had been concerned about the barrage of vulgar insults, threats and downright disrespect their members faced while officiating games.
Youth leagues across the country are raising similar alarms about how to restore civility and safety after a nationwide surge in abuse primarily targeting referees and umpires. Various attempts at solutions, including legislative efforts to impose tougher civil and criminal penalties, have not given officials the comfort level they seek, and many are choosing to leave the profession rather than tolerate the abuse. With officiating shortages looming in some states, the search for solutions is growing more intense.