Rep Jeremy Faison Tries To Pull Pants Of Referee At Son’s HS Basketball Game, Gets Ejected

Tennessee state representative Jeremy Faison had an outburst at his son's high school basketball game where he tried to pull down a referee's pants. He got ejected for it Tuesday and later her apologized for his actions.

The 45-year-old was watching his son play basketball at the game when he got upset with a call, reported New York Daily News. He headed straight to the court and started arguing with the referee. Then he grabbed the man’s pants that stayed tight around his waist. The whole incident was caught on camera and shared online.

According to Tennessean, game official Paul Pendleton later followed the standard procedure by filing a report with the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA).

During the game, which was recorded live on Facebook by Johnson City's Providence Academy that was hosting Lakeway Christian Academy, tempers flared. A fight over a loose ball led to a technical foul. The video of the game showed Faison sitting in the stands then heading towards the court as referees tried to break up the two basketball teams.

The report said that Pendleton told the lawmaker to leave the gym. He started walking away but turned and pointed his finger at the official. According to the report, Faison told Pendleton that he can't tell him to leave the floor, and said that "this was your fault."

Then he bent down to grab Pendleton's left pant leg. The report said that Faison tried to jerk Pendleton's pants "down and off." As Faison walked away, shouts could be heard in the gym, with someone calling for a cop. According to the report, Pendleton asked a game administrator to involve cops, but ultimately they weren't called and Faison left "without further incident."

Later, Faison, the state House Republican Caucus chair, took to social media to admit that he was "wrong."

He started his statement by saying that for years he thought how wrong it is "when a parent loses their temper at a sporting event." He doesn't find such acts mature. He said that "it’s embarrassing to the child." He said that he "acted the fool" Tuesday night and lost his temper on a referee. He wanted the official to fight him, and that he totally "lost my junk and got booted from the from the gym." He said that "emotions getting in the way of rational thoughts are never good" and he hopes to be able to find the referee and ask for "his forgiveness."