A Tennessee state lawmaker went off the rails at a high school basketball game this week — getting booted from the gym after trying to pull down the referee’s pants.
State Rep. Jeremy Faison was later forced to issue a public apology, and admitted he simply “lost my junk.”
The legislator’s tirade came Tuesday when he stormed onto the court at a game by Providence Academy in Johnson City, fuming over a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct by the ref, footage of the incident obtained by WBIR-TV show.
“You can’t tell me to leave the floor, this was your fault,” Faison snapped at referee Paul Pendleton, before turning around and trying to yank the official’s pants off.
The lawmaker was then booted from the gym after the 3rd quarter rant, and then cops were called to the scene, The Tennessean said.
It didn’t take long for a red-faced Faison to issue a mea culpa on Twitter, admitting that he “acted the fool” during the incident.
The referee, Paul Pendleton filed a complaint against Jeremy Faison (above) with the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. Tennessee General Assembly“For years I thought how wrong it is when a parent loses their temper at a sporting event,” he tweeted. “It’s not Christian and it’s not mature and it’s embarrassing to the child have always been my thoughts.”
“Unfortunately, I acted the fool tonight and lost my temper on a ref,” he wrote. “I was wanting him to fight me. Totally lost my junk and got booted from the gym.”
Faison admits he lost his temper at the high school sporting event. AP“I’ve never really lost my temper but I did tonight and it was completely stupid of me,” he said. “Emotions getting in the way of rational thoughts are never good. I hope to be able to find the ref and ask for his forgiveness. I was bad wrong.”
It is unclear if Faison has yet apologized to Pendleton, but the ref filed a complaint against the lawmaker with the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association — which is still pending, according to the Tennessean.
