Three Referees Brawl It Out At Fourth Grade Basketball Game

Three referees at a Colorado youth basketball game threw punches and tackled each other in the middle of the court surrounded by parents, family members, and children, in a viral video shared to X.

The brawl broke out during the fourth quarter of a fourth-grade boys' game between Cherry Creek and Legend Blue on Saturday at the Gold Crown Field House in Lakewood, according to a clip of the live-streamed game posted online.

Tyler Polumbus via X

Two refs walked toward each other aggressively as one of them takes a swing before a third runs on screen and tackles one of the two to the ground, while the fourth-graders stand around them.

"Oh my goodness," the man recording can be heard exclaiming as one player waiting to receive a pass backed off the court to get out of the way of the fight.

Tyler Polumbus via X

Two men in plain clothes - presumably dads of players - run onto the court to break up the fight. One holds a ref back while two others wrestled on the floor.

The two on the floor then stood up to continue fighting, squaring up with each other until the plainclothed parents or coaches stepped in to stop fighting.

Tyler Polumbus via X

The entire time the fight is happening, a fourth ref tried to bring back the peace by blowing his whistle and yelling.

No serious injuries came from the scrum, and “no children, coaches or parents were directly involved,” according to the Gold Crown Foundation.

“Through our in-house camera system we were able to identify everyone involved and our staff removed all three officials from the premises,” the foundation said in a statement to New York The Post. “We have informed these independently contracted officials that they are suspended indefinitely from working for Gold Crown Foundation.”

The organization apologized to all who had to witness the brawl.

“This is an unfortunate reminder that we all need to keep the kids’ best interest in mind and that our adult behavior plays a pivotal role in youth sports,” Gold Crown said. “Let this also be a reminder to everyone that Gold Crown has zero tolerance for any adult behavior that puts the kids’ experience or safety at risk.”