“Ricardo Portillo’s daughters had begged him to stop refereeing in a soccer league because of the growing risk of violence from angry players,” kristv.com reports. “Now they’re faced with planning his funeral after he succumbed to injuries late Saturday that had put him in a coma for a week since a 17-year-old goalie punched him in the head.” Obviously, I’m not recommending that a soccer referee perform his duties whilst armed. Unless, you know, he wants to and uses a fanny pack. Nevertheless, Portillo’s tragic tale is cautionary. First, as always, avoid stupid people in stupid places doing stupid things. Reserve the right to walk away. Second, remember [Zimmerman fans] that a “simple” punch can be fatal; an attacker doesn’t have to be carrying a knife or bat or gun to kill you. That is all.
This is what happens when parents stop parenting for fear of government intervention. It’s simple folks it is called DISCIPLINE
Certain cultural sub-groups are all in when it comes to machismo and violence, so the discipline may be there but it is anti social. This sub-groups’ gang / bullying mentality that is out of line with the “social” norms of ordinary citizens; and sub groups such as these soccer parents cross all ethnic and religious spectrums.
I am giving odds on the kiddo not being a U.S. Citizen: Any takers.
As for the Ref… Anyone can be sucker punched… and having a defensive firearm would not do anything for you if you have your head down and documenting something. For those of you that don’t know the history of soccer; Referees for Futbol (soccer) get killed almost every season throughout the world for challenging the right of a player to cheat. A defensive tactic for this situation is to keep your distance from the thugs. It’s a free country so you cannot prohibit the thugs, gang-bangers, and IBBA’s (itty bitty bad-asses) from playing the game, so the only other acceptable way to deal with it is to avoid the scene in the first place.
The key here would be: Don’t Referee a Soccer Game. Simply stop refereeing soccer games. If they want to play soccer, just let them keep their own score. Cancel all the leagues, close down all the soccer fields, and let them learn an U.S. Sport where they respect the Ref….. (I know: RACIST!)…. Maybe I am a bigot for wanting responsibility, but… That’s me…Live with it!!
I am absolutely in with all that, but unfortunately “they” will come up with “their” own referees just as here. So you still have the opportunity for this kind of incident to occur.
Competent security, and the threat of banishment from the sport, is the only thing that will keep people with “their” level of mentality in check.
BTW some jurisdictions have been successful with using court orders to keep gang members from associating with each other in any venue.
They associate and are seen or caught together, known gang members go to jail for violating the court order.
Just so we’re clear…instead of backing up, being aware of your surroundings, realizing this kid is volatile and understanding that volatile people are prone to violence, your solution is to ban…high-capacity assault soccer???
Really??
yes….
Muse pose here*
Must also ban high capacity assault vans with fully automatic transmissions.
That’ll stop car carnage. Yeah, that’s it!
I was a soccer referee in a youth league (grade school up to seniors in High school) in a wealthy suburban area. I had threatening situations come from players, yes, but the worst were the parents. I actually had to eject a dad for threatening to beat me up if I didn’t call a goal.
This is the least “should have” of all the should-have-beens that have been published here. It was unforeseeable, random, and pretty much unavoidable. A gun would have done nothing.
The kid who went apesh** was new to the league and the team. It was his first game, and neither his coach nor his teammates, and especially not the ref, could have known he was likely to do that. It was an out-of-proportion reaction to a mundane play. A complete blindside.
It may sound like yet another time when a gun would have helped a good guy survive, but when you look at what it was and how it happened, it doesn’t fit the criteria.
I agree. The best deterrent is to give him a very stiff penalty for killing a ref in a game meant for people to have fun. Continue down this road and other ridiculous players will think twice before attacking a ref. Teach them a lesson – they need to keep their hands off people.
This is not a good example of where a DGU would have been helpful due to the setting. Unless he persisted, any response by the victim would have been questionable once the goalie relented, which he apparently did immediately after throwing the punch to the referee’s face.
This is, however, an excellent example of how vulnerable we all can be, and how a DGU may be more justified than many naysayers would expect.
This is what the antis don’t get. One punch can incapacitate or kill you. Even if you have been a boxer or punched a lot in the past. I know some BJJ and I know enough that I do not want to get into a hand to hand fight unless it’s the final option. Especially against multiple attackers.
I will admit, I am still amazed that a single punch can cause death.
Yeah, it’s not common. Other reports have said the murdered was much larger than the coach, which makes it a little more understandable for me.
Remember, its the ground that often is the killer…..when ones head hits it.
The refs injuries were minor(same as Zims) & you must allow the perp to keep beating you(brady 101). This helps Zimmermans case BTW as it shows not everyone is the pussys that grabbers would have you believe. If the ref shot the punk all we would have heard is about his(minor) injuries & the fact the perp was(unarmed). It will be interesting at Zim trial when they regurgitate the unarmed crap, now they know people die in fist fights(just ask oscar bonevena, shout hard though). Yes, great advice to walk away, I walked away from a crackhead yesterday who was trying to start a fight, Randy
Anybody know if they’ve upped the charge to what I’d assume
to be manslaughter yet?
What does it mater? He’s 17. He’ll “walk” before he’s old enough to legally order a lite beer.
as a sporting official, this saddens me.
A single punch to the head can be devastating as this and many other incidents have proven. Especially so if the victim of the punch is an older person. In this particular case I think situational awareness would have been more important than a gun. And a pepper spray.
Around 1985, I think it was, when walking home from work late one night, I was mugged by “around” five guys. They were on me so fast I didn’t have time to count to three. One punch on the cheekbone and I was out. For several seconds. I fell on the sidewalk, and the ear on that side is permanently misshapen. But the cheek? It’s odd, but it’s permanently discolored a reddish hue. All those years. I had stopped carrying (illegally) a year before because I got arrested for carrying it concealed.
I’ve thought a bit about all the violence in soccer, and believe that the lack of physical contact (sure, I know it happens) – and the release it affords spectators – results in too much pent-up aggression in fans. Especially those prone to violence in the first place. You rarely see violence like that among hockey, football, basketball or baseball. Aside from the occasional little league dust-up. I wish soccer had never caught on in our country.
You’re kidding, right?
I don’t like it either. People just take it too seriously. It’s just a game. JC – you are kicking a ball around.
” a “simple” punch can be fatal” is misguided logic. The use of deadly force (in every state and under the model penal code) is based on a criterion of “reasonableness”. The reasonably prudent man standard asks the question was the harm LIKELY to cause death or serious bodily injury, not COULD it have. Anything could cause death. Punches to the face are EXTREMELY unlikely to cause serious injury or death, therefor are EXTREMELY unlikely to support a DGU.
If you disagree with the above, ask yourself how many fist fights you’ve ever seen or heard of, then ask yourself how many people died from those fights. We’re talking one in a million. You don’t use a firearm to prevent something that has a one in a million probability of killing you. That, by definition, is unreasonable. As such, it is outside the boundaries of justified self-defense.
Agree, based on my limited knowledge of the event, if the ref had drawn down on the kid before getting punched it would have not been good PR.
I would call a broken jaw a “serious bodily injury”. The same with a broken orbital bone or crushed eye. More people die or end up in the hospital from these fights than you would imagine.
Yeah, about that “reasonableness” thing…
Nothing reasonable about an assault. You have no idea about the strengths and capabilities of the attacker. You have no idea what they will do once you are unable to defend yourself. The only reasonable response to an attack is to respond quickly and viciously with everything you’ve got and make sure if possible you come out of it alive.
An assault may not cause you any significant harm or it may kill you. It may kill you years later. So why do we have to be “reasonable”.
Memo to George Zimmerman’s lawyer: Show this story to the jury and explain how an “unarmed teenager” can still inflict life-threatening injuries.
I was just about to say… Nobody mention George Zimmerman!
Ah yes, soccer: “The Beautiful Sport”. (As seen in numerous yearly riots in and around soccer games throughout Europe and south America.)
Anyone ever seen a riot at an organized shooting match? Or even a fight between the competitors? Or even a very loud argument?
Of course, that doesn’t count the “assault weapons” that leap off the shooting benches and gun racks and kill tens of thousands of shooting competitors every year. /sarc off/
Great observation!
Soccer is very dangerous. Last week I watched a match on TV and was almost bored to death.
Indeed! Final score 0-0.
Ban assault goalies!
I’m going to go with “open carry” would have been useful here though I’d sit at home if I thought I would need it while reffin’. Even an open carry taser x26 would’ve persuaded this punk to lash out at a softer victim later in life. He was going to attack someone eventually…as for the parents, yup I bet this was his first time to lash out at authority. At least the gun grabbers can’t use him now.
And who apprehended the murderous “teen”? I hope it was a citizens arrest!
OMGWTFBBQ!!!! THAT TARGET looks JUST LIKE an old fat white guy!!! How dare people shoot at old fat white guy targets…fVcking NAZI bastages…jackbooted thugs! As an OFWG I am soooooooooooooooooo offended that someone would use a likeness of my image (kinda sorta) to shoot at…it’s terrible I tell ya!
I thought Zimmerman was not injured? The media said he was not.
Stupid, effing, evil libtards. Smash their lower jaws into powder with ball-peen hammers.
Skipping over the libtard thing (again), that has to bring the number of times I’ve seen you use the “lower jaw – ball peen hammer” thing to well over a baker’s dozen. Normal people don’t do that. I’m really starting to wonder about your mental health.
Y’know those “signs” that everyone says are always there in the people that eventually snap and go nuts? I think clear infatuation with stuff like that is one of them.
Ahh Matt, with the ENTIRE gun grabbing fiasco being a libtard (democrat) thingy……lets NOT skip over it shall we.
What, did you vote for Barry or something?
The ballpeen deal gets into the skull after being used several times…like a ballpeen hammer. This is the point. Over and over and over.
Silly. Enjoy the pain on libtards (democrats).
You almost sound like a libtard.
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