A DeSoto County (Fla.) High School basketball player may face felony charges for attacking a referee who had assessed a technical foul against him, ABC News reported Wednesday.
Video of Monday night's incident shows the player, Mason Holland, 18, engaging in a brief shoving match with a player from Port Charlotte High School following a made free throw.
When the referee saw the shove, he stopped the game and assessed a technical foul on Holland, who responded by pushing the ref. Holland then ran after the referee and threw him to the floor before being restrained.
DeSoto County Superintendent Adrian Cline said Holland could not participate in extracurricular activities going forward, adding he had "not encountered anything like this before."
The school has suspended Holland for 10 days, during which time the Florida State Attorney's office will decide whether or not to file felony charges against him.
Holland, who will be expelled and placed in another school if charged, vowed Wednesday to complete his schooling regardless.
"I am going to finish school, I've already come this far and am not giving up now," he said.
According to the report, Holland was adopted at six years old and his adoptive father, Samuel Holland, said Mason had been treated for anger management issues since puberty.
The clip of the incident has gone viral on YouTube, already attracting more than 125,000 hits.
The game, played at DeSoto H.S. in Arcadia, Fla., ended with DeSoto forfeiting.
DeSoto coach Joe Sheridan confirmed Holland would never play for the team again.
“It was totally unacceptable behavior,” Sheridan told USA Today.
“It was everything we are not, and now we have to recover from that with 12 very, very good boys.
"He’ll never play here again. I’ve been coaching for 40 years, and I’ve never experienced anything like that. I’m still in shock."
