Georgia basketball players chase down, violently attack referee at youth game, shocking video shows

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A referee was chased down and violently attacked at a youth basketball game in Georgia Sunday afternoon, shocking video shows. 

Video of the incident shows a group of at least five people confronting the official, who attempts to run away and defend himself from several punches. At one point, the referee takes a swing before he is pulled to the ground, punched and kicked repeatedly by the surrounding crowd, which appeared to include both players and adults. 

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO

The unidentified referee needed 30 stitches to stop bleeding after the brawl, which occurred at the "Love Of The Game" event at Stronghold Christian Church in Lithonia, Georgia, about 18 miles east of Atlanta, TMZ reported. 

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Police are investigating, though it's unclear at this time what prompted the mayhem, said Kenneth Tarver, the founder of KB Sports, who helped put on the youth tournament over the weekend.

A referee holds a basketball under his arm during a timeout (iStock)

Tarver said the referee is expected to make a full recovery, and he vowed to increase security at future events to make it "safer for the officials." 

He noted that the teams consisted of eight graders, and the team involved in the brawl has been banned from future events. 

"The referee appears outnumbered from the very start," Paris Cherry a former pro basketball player, who is now the youth basketball development coach, told Atlanta's WSB-TV. "I was appalled. It was a very scary video. To see the adults instigate and then the kids follow up to the point where it was the kids who chased down the referee at the end of the video, it’s just