ROSS COUNTY, Ohio — The experience of playing pee-wee football is a fond memory for many kids. Several children in the Pickaway County Pee-Wee Football League had fun until, according to parents, a referee shouted derogatory slurs at them.

Referee Mack Stotridge was confronted on the field by Pickaway Pee-Wee League coach Joe Arnold after a child came off the field crying. The young player said the referee made several derogatory comments to him. 

The game pitted the Adena Local School’s Pee-Wee Football team against the Pickaway County Pee-Wee League Rangers.

“He called the child an (expletive), and asked him if he wore his sister’s panties,” said the parent of one of the young players. “You don’t say stuff like that to little kids.”

Coach Joe Arnold was ejected from the game following the confrontation on the field. Arnold now faces a one game suspension.

“I was just trying to talk with the ref. I wanted to know why he thought it was alright to say inappropriate things to children,” said Arnold. “It’s one thing if the ref makes a bad call, it’s another when the ref calls a child disgusting names.”

The Guardian reached out to Stotridge but has yet to hear back from him regarding the allegations.

The incident unfolded at the football field of Adena Local Schools on West High Street in Frankfort.

Many parents at the game were in an uproar over the incident. One parent told the Guardian, “You don’t call little kids inappropriate names. If he said that stuff to my child I would have gone out on that field and confronted him.”

There were other parents who said the referee was “just joking around with the kids.” One individual suggested that the team “not be so sensitive.”

The Pickaway County Pee-Wee League offers football and cheerleading opportunities for any school-aged child 12-years-old and younger.

The Guardian reached out to Adena Supertendiant John Balzer for comment. We have yet to hear from him regarding the incident.

Jay Salley is the news editor for the Guardian.