Youth Basketball Coach Fired For Violently Strangling Referee During Game

A basketball coach has been fired after he choked a referee during a wild altercation.

The man, who coaches a team of 10-year-olds, was caught on camera grabbing the official's neck after he was issued two technical fouls in the game.

At the time, the kids watched on in disbelief, but now the clip itself has surfaced online and instantly gone viral.

In the video, the fired-up coach can be seen squaring up to the referee and exchanging a few words with him.

While they were nose-to-nose, the coach then suddenly strangles the referee, forcing him backwards off the court.

In a bid to break it up, another referee wearing black and white stripes then comes running over and clocks the coach in the face with a punch.

The duo were eventually separated by what appears to be parents of the youth players.

Now a formal investigation into the incident has been undertaken with Cavs Youth Basketball founder Darryl McDonald confirming he has overturned the initial decision to suspend the coach, instead opting to sack him completely.

"It was unfortunate," McDonald said.

"Our program has been around for over 30 years and before it even went viral, the coach was no longer part of our program. It's completely unacceptable to behave that way in front of our youth. There's no excuse, I don't care what someone says to you. You have to find a better way to handle that particular situation."

The original video was first shared by EGB Hoops on Twitter, but was re-shared by a bunch of other popular basketball pages across social media.

On Twitter alone, the clip has 3.2million views.

The footage is rather distressing and social media users wasted no time in condemning the bloke for his actions.

But it was EGB Hoops who perhaps summed it up best, saying: "Role modelling starts at home. I don't let others raise my kids I raise 'em myself."