Ref attacked on ice by adults during Alberta kids' tourney

Kid attacked a ref - ban for life. No more hockey for you, adult then attacked ref. 5 years in jail,

Apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

This is why I stopped reffing minor hockey.

Parents were the worst.

This is why I stopped reffing minor baseball.

Parents are the worst... including my Aunt.

There's a racial element to this incident that hasn't been mentioned. Won't say it openly, just to not set off all the usual accusations around here. But, as anyone who's ever played hockey out in the backwoods knows, when Native teams play the local teams quite literally anything can and will happen.

"Native Flu". Saw it all the time in Enoch.

Had a pal that played junior back in the day. He said the best part of the schedule was when they had to travel to a game in Hobbema. Apparently the vibe was so wild, just from the crowd throwing shit at them when they came out of the locker room, that it was the next best thing to being caught in the middle of a race riot in Los Angeles.

Oh yea, I never reffed in Hobbema. I stuck to the north and west of Edmonton. Sometimes East. Never, ever, south.

Hobbema had the distinction of being the only place the AMA wouldn't insure a vehicle. Very rough neighbourhood.

Standoff, down near Lethbridge, is pretty much the same. Somewhat richer from all the natural gas leases in the area but it has the same social problems as Hobbema. That's where the kid who started slashing and the adults who attacked the referee are from.

Gotta look at it in a way that ensures one remains sane and write it off as just a single game that turned out to be more memorable than the others.

Some years ago, when our son was playing six and under, we were playing in northern SK. Close to Prince Albert. I saw a six or seven-year-old player attack a referee with his fists and verbally. Not a pretty scene. Needless to say, native team, native player. My son is in his forties now so you can see this has been ongoing for a while.