Take it to court | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

After reading "Soccer referee's death: When a single punch to the head kills" (Tribune, May 8), which quoted doctors about the dangers of head injuries, I consider myself lucky not to have suffered a similar fate.

Several years ago, while refereeing a Salt Lake County basketball game, I was struck on the side of my head by a basketball thrown by a player. Other than knocking my glasses off, I wasn't injured.

But from being threatened, pushed around and spat upon over the years, I was mad, and I decided it was time to act.

I filed a complaint against the player. A judge fined him $400 and sent him to anger-management class.

As an officer in the Salt Lake Officials Association, I helped my fellow officials who were assaulted go through the judicial system. We obtained assault convictions on eight people. Since that time, the county situation has been better because players know we are not fooling around.

Roger Pusey

Salt Lake City