A referee at a youth basketball game stopped a fan with a knockout punch during a heated brawl on the court of an AAU game near Oklahoma City on Saturday, according to videos posted to social media.
The mid-court melee at the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) game, played at sports complex Score OKC, began when a coach exited the stands and entered the court, and headed directly into the face of a ref who had just made a penalty call. The two men had an altercation which turned physical.
“I was there on the other court! This was all over a tech the coach received then he came on the floor and headbutted the ref instead of leaving the floor,” one Facebook user wrote Monday.
Then, after intervening in the original altercation and pulling the ref away from the coach, a different ref took off across the court and cold-cocked a fan (wearing a dark shirt and light shorts) as the fans screamed in horror.
One Twitter user, Rapheal Davis, posted a close-up of the knockout:
“The score was 28-26 … they were winning now the whole organization loses,” the Facebook user continued.
Here is a full-length video of the incident, posted by Dominique Jamelle via Outkick:
There are reports the man in the dark shirt and light shorts, who was knocked out, could have been trying to help. “It looks like a coach was the instigator, and a ref took a swing. The guy who was leveled by another ref was possibly trying to keep the peace,” the Lost Ogle tweeted.
The AAU has a history of violence on its basketball courts. In May, a 34-year-old parent pulled out his gun after arguing with another parent in Westford, Massachusetts:
In April 2021, a referee took a punch at someone on the court at an AAU women’s game in Indiana:
In 2018, the entire team stomped a ref during an AAU basketball game in Atlanta, Georgia:
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