Assault charges filed against youth football ref after pushing 9-year-old

A youth football referee is facing misdemeanor assault charges after he was seen shoving a fourth-grade football player to the ground during a game in Carthage.

61-year-old Ray Douglas Rector, of Joplin, was charged in Jasper County Circuit Court with fourth-degree assault.

A video that went viral on social media over the weekend reportedly shows Rector pushing the 9-year-old boy after the young player was tripped into him.

A probable cause statement shows that Rector called the boy a “punk” after shoving him to the ground.

Parents are calling for Rector to be banned from all youth sports in the future.