It would make sense that the angry parents at sporting events are people who have stressful jobs. On Tuesday, a Tennessee House Republican lawmaker fit that description, getting ejected from his son’s basketball game after a scuffle with a referee.
The Representative, Jeremy Faison, posted on Twitter acknowledging the blow-up at his son’s game, saying that he “acted the fool tonight and lost my temper on a ref.”
Faison, 45, was caught on camera during his freakout, and he continued in his message, saying just how upset he got during the game.
“I was wanting him to fight me. Totally lost my junk and got booted from the gym,” Faison wrote. “I’ve never really lost my temper but I did tonight and it was completely stupid of me.”
The game between Providence Academy and Lakeway Christian Academy, where Faison’s son plays, was live-streamed, catching the blow up from the lawmaker.
“Emotions getting in the way of rational thoughts are never good,” Faison said. “I hope to be able to find the ref and ask for his forgiveness. I was bad wrong.”
Problems started when a fight for a loose ball turned into a scuffle between the two teams. While players were going at it, Faison found himself on the court where a referee told him to leave, according to a report provided by the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, NBC News reported.
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Upset that he was told to leave, the lawmaker pointed his finger in the referee’s face saying, “You can’t tell me to leave the floor this was your fault,” the report stated.
Then Faison attempted to pull down the ref’s pants, however, they stayed up, and Faison walked away, the report said.
Most would agree it is wrong for parents to yell during sporting events or lose their temper, and in his apology, Faison agreed.
He wrote that it is “not Christian and it’s not mature and it’s embarrassing to the child.”
Faison has not addressed his attempt to pull the ref’s pants down, but other lawmakers have shared comments on Twitter about the incident.
