SEATTLE — The hockey parent who assaulted two youth referees at a Seattle ice rink earlier this year has reached an agreement with prosecutors to dismiss the charges in exchange for conditions that include taking an anger management or sportsmanship class.
Video of the Feb. 9 assault went viral after the parent stormed the ice and shoved two referees – ages 12 and 14 – to the ground.
Uriel Cortes Gonzalez, 42, of Renton, was charged with two misdemeanor counts of assault in Seattle Municipal Court.
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In an agreement signed with the Seattle City Attorney’s Office, Gonzalez agreed to pay $1,500 in restitution to the victims, have no criminal law violations, complete 80 hours of community service, and complete a course in anger management, youth sportsmanship that is approved by the city. If Gonzalez complies with the agreement, the charges will be dismissed in 2027.
Gonzalez has also been trespassed from the Kraken Community Iceplex.
New body camera video shows investigation
KOMO News obtained new body camera videos from the case that show Gonzalez explaining his actions to two Seattle police officers.
My kid is playing hockey and another kid started punching him, so I came over and then I grabbed my kid to not play anymore and then I pushed the ref,” Gonzalez told police. “I said, ‘You guys have to start making calls to prevent these issues.’
Video of the incident showed the fight had already been broken up and the refs were talking with each other when Cortes Gonzalez opened a door to the ice, approached them, and shoved each of them onto the ice. Multiple witnesses told police the youth refs were attacked without provocation.
“He walked up right in front of the box, he looked me dead in the eye, he took both of his hands, placed them on the child’s chest and pushed them with all of his strength onto the ground,” one witness told the officers.
The two responding Seattle police officers gathered his information and allowed Gonzalez to leave the area with his family. Gonzalez claimed he did not know the refs were children when he shoved them.
A woman who identified herself as an off-duty Seattle police officer said she witnessed the assault from the penalty box.
“You’re hoping for an arrest?” the responding officer asked the woman.
“Did you not see? I saw right there,” she responded.
The video shows paramedics responding to evaluate one of the refs who was assaulted after he complained of pain in his hips. Both referees gave statements to Seattle police explaining the unprovoked attack.
Washington rejects proposal to make assaulting refs a felony
For the last three years, the Washington legislature has rejected proposals that would have made assaulting a sports referee a felony.
A 2023 survey by the National Association of Sports Officials found that more than half of sports officials reported they have feared for their safety because of the behavior of coaches, players, or spectators. 12% of respondents said they had been physically assaulted.
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Around 20 states have passed laws that protect sports officials.
“This issue is having a tangible impact on our sports programs, we’re facing officiating shortages,” Brandi Peetz told a legislative committee earlier this year during consideration of the enhanced charge for assaulting refs.
Two proposals in the 2025 legislative session failed to pass out of the Senate.