Seattle father arrested after assaulting teenage hockey referees

February 17, 2025 / Athletic Administration • Coaching • Hockey

A Seattle father has been charged with assault after pushing two teenage referees during a youth hockey game last weekend.

According to a Seattle Police Department report, officers responded around 11:50 a.m. to a report of an assault at the iceplex, located at 10651 5th Avenue Northeast in Seattle, Washington.

A recent article from MSN.com detailed the encounter between the parent and the hockey referee. Below is an excerpt from the MSN.com article.

The caller reported that an angry parent had pushed a 16-year-old referee. Police arrived minutes later and stopped a vehicle matching the suspect’s description as it was leaving the area.

The driver, identified as Uriel Isaac Cortes Gonzalez, 40, told officers he had been watching his son’s hockey game when he saw his son get into a fight with another player. He said his son was punched and kicked for about 30 seconds while referees failed to intervene, prompting him to step onto the ice to break up the fight. He admitted to pushing a referee but claimed he was defending his child.

However, police reviewed surveillance footage of the incident, which showed a man matching Cortes Gonzalez’s description entering the ice from the officials’ box during a stoppage in play.

The video allegedly shows him walking up to a referee and forcefully shoving him to the ice before pushing another official. Witnesses described the attack as unprovoked.

One of the referees told police he heard someone shout, “Get the [expletive] off my kid!” before being shoved hard enough to knock him off his skates and onto his back. The second referee said he was pushed into the rink’s boards, injuring his elbow.

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Seattle Fire Department medics evaluated both teens for minor injuries.

Witnesses, including rink officials and spectators, told officers they saw Cortes Gonzalez aggressively confront the referees. One witness, who was working in the officials’ box, said she saw him push both referees, knocking them to the ice.

To read the full story from MSN.com, click here.