Basketbrawl: 47-year-old man arrested for punching high school referee in the face

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    MITCHELL COUNTY, NC (WLOS ) — An Avery County man has been arrested and charged after authorities say he struck a high school basketball referee after a game Tuesday night in Mitchell County.

Jerry Dale Jones, 47, of Newland is charged with assault on a sports official, disorderly conduct and resisting a public officer.

According to arrest warrants, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, after a high school basketball game at the Mitchell High School gymnasium, Jones approached the victim, pointing his finger in the victims face and stating “that’s a bull s!@# f@#$ing call!” Jones then struck the victim in the face.

When a sheriff’s deputy attempted to breakup the fight, Jones refused to listen to the verbal commands and continued attempting to lunge towards the victim.

Officials said cases like these are what’s causing a referee shortage in WNC.

“I think we’ve moved in society in general to this reactionary mode, and in athletics we’re seeing that in every sport,” said Phillip Allen, Regional Supervisor of Sports Officials for Western North Carolina.

Allen told News 13 refs face criticism from everyone.

“The fans mostly. The fans and parents. Some coaches, but mostly from the bleachers,” he added. “You develop how much you’re going to take of that.”

It’s come to a point where Allen said they’re losing officials.

“We’re getting maybe 10 to 15 officials that will sign up for us of any given sport each season,” Allen added.

But, he said, on average, only three to four of those will come back the following year.

“If we do an exit interview, it’s because they can’t take that abuse,” said Allen.

Something Allen said they shouldn’t have to deal with.

“Winning and losing is not what it’s about, but that’s gotten very difficult to get across to people,” he said.

Jones was arrested and held on a $5,000 bond. He was ordered to have no contact with the victim and is not allowed on the Mitchell High School property. His next court date is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020.

NCHSAA Commissioner Que Tucker responded to Tuesday’s incident in a statement:

“We are aware of an incident involving an Avery County fan who allegedly assaulted one of our basketball officials. The NCHSAA staff has spoken with school administrators for both schools and believe that this situation is being resolved in an appropriate manner. Since it is our understanding the game official elected to press charges against the individual in question, the NCHSAA will not comment further.”

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