SHALER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A teenager accused of coming out of the stands and attacking an official at a fourth-grade basketball game at Shaler Elementary School in March faced a judge today in Allegheny County Juvenile Court.
The ref he is accused of attacking was also inside the hearing, which was closed to the media.
Chief Investigator Rick Earle has been following the case of an increase in harassment against sports officials.
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Earle spoke with the referee right after the hearing.
“He was very remorseful. He was very upset about it,” said Marty Coyne.
Coyne, a longtime sports official in the Pittsburgh area, is speaking out after the hearing for the teen accused of punching him in the face at Shaler Elementary School in March during a fourth-grade basketball game.
Earle: He understood what he did was wrong?
Coyne: Oh yes. To rise to that level of anger, something’s seriously wrong, you know, Rick, come on.
Coyne told Earle he wasn’t allowed to discuss the details of the case, but sources tell 11 Investigates a judge ordered the teen, who was just three weeks shy of his 18th birthday when he came out of the stands and assaulted Coyne, to pay restitution, complete community service, and anger management classes.
Earle: Are you satisfied with what the judge handed down?
Coyne: It was substantial, you know, he’s, he’s affected. He knows. He just graduated from school. If it was three weeks later and he was 18 years old, that would really be a problem, and I told him that. We’d have a different situation here.
Coyne, who has heart issues, experienced vision problems as he was driving home from the game, so he went straight to Mercy Hospital as a precaution.
Doctors evaluated him and said he had suffered a concussion.
Coyne, who returned to officiating after taking a week off, said he’s satisfied with the outcome of the case.
He believes the teen learned his lesson.
“We shook hands at the end. I shook hands with his mom and dad and said I hope he gets the help he needs. It’s very disturbing that it would happen at a fourth-grade basketball game, and I told him that, but he was very remorseful,” said Coyne.
Coyne said because of the teen’s sincere remorse, he decided not to pursue stiffer penalties.
He’s said he’s glad the teen is getting a second chance, and he said he will hopefully be able to turn his life around.
After the hearing, Coyne went to umpire a softball game.
He said that one violent incident hasn’t deterred his love for officiating.
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