"Let's Go Outside, You Little Punk --- ------"

Ref at UTC Intramural Game Allegedly Called N-word, Attacked

As reported by the Chattanoogan:

A referee at a UTC intramural game was called the N-word and hit by a fraternity team member after the game, the UTC Echo said.

The report said the incident happened Feb. 6 when two undefeated teams, Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Chi, were playing.

The referee, freshman Ronald Sutton of Columbia, Tn., said the fact that both teams had not lost "made the game quite intense." He told campus police, "When the intensity of the game increased, that is when tempers began to flare." He said one of the Sigma Chi brothers, Marcus Lyons, a Chattanooga senior, became angry because he felt he had missed a call.

Campus police said Lyons came up to the referee and cursed him, then came over to him during a water break and said, "Let's go outside, you little punk --- ------."

The referee said he was surrounded by Sigma Chi members. He said there were about 15 to 20 fraternity members confronting him. Campus police said one Sigma Chi member allegedly said "f--- his --- up." Police said Lyons then made the racial slur to the referee and then hit him on the lip.

The referee said, "He grabbed both of my arms, held them and called me a ni--er before he swung. "He swung first and grazed my bottom lip, which busted from the contact of the swing. We fought from that point on."