Ref Punches Coach During Youth Game
The referee of a second-grade basketball game says the punch he gave a coach was in self-defense.
A report by the Hendersonville Police Department states referee Ronnie Helton threw coach William “Dewayne” Dean out of a youth league game after calling two technical fouls on him Sunday. The game was at Pope John Paul II High School, according to The Tennessean (http://tnne.ws/xVH0D6 ).
The police report stated that as Dean was leaving, he grabbed Helton, who pushed him away and hit him in the face.
The report said the men’s accounts of what happened differed and both told police they would file charges.
The league is run through the Catholic high school’s athletic department and Headmaster Faustin Weber banned both men, calling the incident outrageous.
Helton declined comment and Dean could not be reached.
