Politician tries pantsing ref at Tennessee HS basketball game. ‘Totally lost my junk’
A Republican state lawmaker is doing damage control after “acting the fool” and losing his temper at a referee during a high school basketball game in Tennessee on Jan. 4.
Rep. Jeremy Faison was kicked out of a game between Lakeway Christian Academy and Providence Academy in Johnson City after he yelled at a referee and attempted to pull down the ref’s pants, which was captured on video.
Faison was attending the game to watch his son play, TMZ said.
According to the Tennessean, the incident occurred in the third quarter of the game after players got physical over a loose ball and Faison ended up interjecting himself as referees tried to separate the teams. Faison was told to leave the gym before he lost his temper with referee Paul Pendleton and tugged at Pendleton’s pants in an attempt to yank them “down and off,” the Tennessean reported.
Following the game, Faison took to social media to issue an apology for his behavior.
“Unfortunately, I acted the fool tonight and lost my temper on a ref,” he said in the statement. “I was wanting him to fight me. Totally lost my junk and got booted from the gym. I’ve never really lost my temper but I did tonight and it was completely stupid of me.”
The Tennessean reports that Pendleton filed a report with the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.
Faison represents Cocke County and has been in office since 2010. He is one of the highest-ranking House Leadership members.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 2:10 PM with the headline "Politician tries pantsing ref at Tennessee HS basketball game. ‘Totally lost my junk’."