Head of Anti-Violence Group Arrested for Hitting Referee

[Gauracandra]

Head of Anti-Violence Group Arrested for Hitting Referee

 

Wednesday, November 07, 2001

 

 

SARASOTA, Fla. — The head of an anti-violence group has been arrested for punching a referee during his 7-year-old son's flag football game.

 

 

Treavor Harvey, who was coaching his son's team, charged on to the field after complaining to referee Tony Kormansek that the game was getting too rough.

 

The 270-pound Harvey had to be pulled off the referee during the Saturday incident, police said.

 

Harvey, 34, a mentor in Sarasota County schools and president of MAD DADS, a group that steers young people away from crime, was arrested on a battery charge.

 

He was released from jail Saturday on $750 bail. He said Tuesday he regretted the incident.

 

"That is not supposed to be the way that you channel your anger," Harvey said.

 

"This is an extreme embarrassment for him," said Harvey's attorney, Derek Byrd. "He just lost control of his emotions."

 

Harvey resigned from his coaching position, but plans to stay active in the community, Byrd said.

 

Kormansek, a truck driver who lives in Bradenton, said he wasn't injured, but the punch made his ears ring.

 

He said Harvey yelled at him several times during the game and was penalized twice for unsportsmanlike conduct.

 

"He was going crazy," Kormansek said. "I didn't even get the time to spit out that he was ejected. He just came out swinging."

 

Kormansek could have canceled the game, but decided not to because the winner was scheduled to play for the championship this weekend.

 

Instead, he took a 20-minute break and penalized the Harvey's Little Apaches 20 yards. The team lost the game to the Little Comanches.