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| Fri, Dec. 5, 2008 |  |
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AAA plans no action in choking incident Wednesday, May 28, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - The Arkansas Activities Association has no plans to take action in connection with a May 17 incident in which a referee choked a coach during a basketball tournament, the association's director said Tuesday. Calvin Anderson of Little Rock was referee in a seventh- and eighth-grade girls game at the Challenge of Champions youth basketball tournament in Little Rock when he briefly choked Mickey Shaffer of Poyen, coach of the Lady Wings 12-and-under team. The choking was captured in a photo by LaJuan Mooney of the Saline County Voice. Shaffer later said he had verbally confronted the referee after being ejected from the game, and he regretted his own behavior in the incident. "If I saw that guy, I would say, 'Man, I'm sorry,'" Shaffer said in an interview with the Arkansas News Bureau. Anderson is listed on the AAA's Web site as an official registered with the Arkansas Officials Association, which operates under the umbrella of the association. AAA Executive Director Lance Taylor said Tuesday the tournament was not an AAA event, and he understood from news reports that Shaffer did not wish to pursue the matter any further. "If Coach Shaffer has no problem with it, I don't think this office certainly does," Taylor said. Youth Sports America, the sponsor of the tournament, has said it will not use Anderson at any future YSA-sponsored events. Spokespersons for the Maumelle-based YSA said initially they did not know the referee's name but Little Rock television station Fox 16 reported Monday the company confirmed the referee was Anderson. An Arkansas News Bureau reporter called Anderson's home Friday and Tuesday for comment. Anderson hung up on the reporter both times. |
