HONOLULU (KHON2) — A 40-year-old man was charged with assault after Honolulu police say he punched a Department of Education employee after an altercation at a basketball game.

Some involved in athletics say it’s been a dangerous growing trend and could spoil things for other sports families.

At Moanalua High School last Thursday, Honolulu Police say the man got into an altercation with referees during a basketball game. And when the woman was escorting the refs outside when the game ended, the man confronted the group, his daughter got tangled with the school official, and he punched the woman.

“It has become tremendously crazy for, overall, in the past maybe 10 years,” said Alton Mamiya, Hawaii State Basketball Officials Association. “I would say officials have been assaulted way back in the day, too, but it hasn’t been this bad.”

It’s a growing problem in all sports in Hawaii. So much, that lawmakers introduced and passed a bill in 2023 that makes it a felony in some instances to attack a sports official.

“Being a sports official myself, I umpire baseball and softball, and I’ve seen how tense games can get,” said Rep. Andrew Takuya Garrett, who co-authored the bill. “Like any umpire, I’ve been on the receiving end of some verbal abuse. But again, just want to reiterate, there is no call, none whatsoever that justifies assaulting a sports official.”

“They all think that their children are going to be stars, they’re going to be, they should be going to college, they should be first string, they should be playing more,” said Rich Miano, football analyst. “And this is a problem that exists throughout every level.”

“I think some parents envision their child getting a full ride to college, and they want to make sure that they have every opportunity to pursue that,” said Garrett.

Because of all this, sports officials are leaving the game. One group found that 50,000 sports officials across the country stopped working since 2019 because of these issues. And it’s no different here. Mamiya says he’s severely understaffed and unable to retain new people.

“Once they come out and they hear all this kind of stuff, they don’t want to officiate because liability for them,” said Mamiya. “And they have other, this is not their full-time job. This is their part-time job to exercise and get on the court and give back to the community and give back to these kids.”

“And when someone attacks a sports official, it really threatens the entire system,” said Garrett. “Games can get canceled, leagues lose officials, and ultimately, kids are the ones who pay the price.”

“Please understand that we’re not here to go against you,” said Mamiya. “We’re trying to help the sport.”

The man was charged with second-degree assault, with bail set at $15,000. The DOE had no comment.

“To me, those people need to be indicted,” said Miano. “That’s a police intervention. That’s physical assault. And we should not have that in our society.”

The highly anticipated Sheraton Hawaii Bowl matchup for the University of Hawaiʻi football team was the focus of the latest episode of Hawaii Football Final, which premiered Sunday night on the KHON+ app and featured KHON2 Sports Director Rob DeMello and analyst Rich Miano.

DeMello and Miano, a former UH player and coach and 11–year NFL veteran, discussed the Rainbow Warriors’ upcoming appearance in the Sheraton Hawaiʻi Bowl against California, answered fan questions in the “HFF Mailbox,” and broke down the next steps for the program. An extended version of the show is also released Sunday nights on major podcast platforms, including Spotify. A television rebroadcast airs Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on KHON2.

Earlier in the week, bowl officials announced the 2025 matchup, which will feature Hawaiʻi against California of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Christmas Eve at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex in Mānoa. The game has already generated significant interest locally and nationally, fueled in part by a headline coaching storyline, a meeting between two former UH quarterbacks.

Hawaiʻi head coach Timmy Chang will lead the Rainbow Warriors into his first bowl game, opposite former UH quarterback and one-time Warriors head coach Nick Rolovich, who will serve as Cal’s interim head coach.

On the field, the Hawaiʻi Bowl will showcase two Hawaiʻi-born quarterbacks. UH freshman Micah Alejado, recently named Mountain West Freshman of the Year, will face Campbell High School alumnus Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, the 2024 Mariota Award winner.

The matchup is one of several storylines surrounding Hawaiʻi’s return to postseason play, all of which DeMello and Miano examined as the Rainbow Warriors prepare for their Christmas Eve showdown in Honolulu.