Former WVU Player Turned Referee Punches Coach During Game

It’s pretty common for a coach to yell at a referee, but what is not common is to see that referee fight back.

While serving as a referee of a fall league high school basketball game between Arlington and Oak Hills at Santiago High School in Corona, California former Mountaineer Brandon Knapper used his fist to unleash on a coach over a dispute about a call.

According to a report by TMZ, Knapper approached the coach, whose name is Rob Alexander, and eventually punched him after the two exchanged words.

H.S. Basketball Referee Punches Coach After Verbal Altercation, Arrested | Click to read more 👇 https://t.co/reqUvVNVDQ

— TMZ (@TMZ) October 27, 2023

The incident led to a chaotic scene with players and people at the game getting involved. Police had to respond to scene to calm everything down.

Law enforcement tells TMZ that Alexander requested prosecution against Knapper upon their arrival. Knapper then turned himself in and was charged with battery causing serious bodily injury and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury. Both charges are felonies.

The game did resume after the fight.

Brandon Knapper played at WVU from 2017 to 2020. He averaged 5 points per game in 32 games during the 2018-2019 season after sitting out the previous season as a redshirt due to an injury. The South Charleston, W.Va. native then experienced a dip in production and games played the next season, his final as a Mountaineer. He would finish out his college career at Eastern Kentucky and Cal State San Bernardino.