Las Vegas City Wire

A basketball referee at a community center is recovering from serious injuries after being attacked during a confrontation with a coach and other angry individuals.

Veteran referee Perry Woodward suffered a brain bleed, concussion, fractured teeth, and torn ligaments in his ankle after being attacked outside the Doolittle Community Center in Las Vegas, according to a report by Fox5LasVegas. Doctors at the hospital where Woodward is being treated said he is lucky to be alive.

“We have constant threats towards us all over town doing games,” said Vince Kristosik, President of the Southern Nevada Officials Association. “But to see this kind of violence to an official, it’s hard for me to find a story where this much physical injury occurred to someone who was here to officiate a game.”

In the incident, Woodward and referee Shawn Rowe were working high school recreation league games at the community center on May 17 when one of the coaches began complaining and taunting Rowe. “I figure worst case it will be a slight confrontation, but nothing serious,” Rowe told Fox5Vegas. “It was everything but.”

Rowe said the coach continued to berate him even as the referee tried to leave the gym after the game was over.  Workers at the rec center tried to keep the coach away from the referee and at one point Woodward, who was not working the game, intervened.

The coach, his wife, and teenage son continued to escalate the conflict to the point where the wife reportedly lunged at Rowe, according to the referees. “I throw my hand up and I take a step back,” Rowe said.

Woodward tried to intervene again and became the victim of an attack. Rowe said the coach and his son both ran toward Woodward and punched him in the face.

“It was two guys taking a swing at Perry and they connect with him,” Rowe told Fox5Vegas. “Then I hear a loud thump against the concrete. It felt like everything stopped. Then I looked at Perry, and I honestly thought he died.”

One person was arrested and two others were cited, according to City of Las Vegas officials.

Kristosik said violence towards recreational referees is on the rise, making recruiting people for the job more and more difficult. “I’ve been a high school official for 30 years,” he said. “These incidents are increasing every year, and unless people realize, without officials we’re not going to have games. Officials, coaches, parents, and kids, we have a responsibility. We have to stop that”