Tim Peel Accused of Threatening Pair of Youth Officials

Retired NHL referee Tim Peel is under scrutiny after a damning report. Sean Gentile of The Athletic broke a story on Friday afternoon of a pair of St. Louis officials who were subject to abuse from players, parents, and Tim Peel - who has a son who plays for one of the teams involved.

Per Gentile's report, a January 15th hockey game featuring the St. Louis Knights and the St. Louis Sting ended with 17-year old officials Andrew Boren and Sean McGlynn getting showered with insults. As they were heading to the locker room, parents of the Knights (who had won the game 7-2) were telling the officials to 'go f---' themselves. Mind you, this was a U10 hockey game.

The kids tried to remove the key from the door and lock it before Peel gained entry; they failed. Per Boren and McGlynn's testimonies, Peel berated them for about 20 minutes. During the talking-to, Peel flexed his 'prestige' (if he even has any) and allegedly threatened their positions, citing their incompetence. Again, for a U10 hockey game.

The pair protested Peel's entry, citing a posted sign which read, "Officials only, no parents." They asserted their position by reiterating that Peel was not even a coach, simply a parent. Peel apparently believed his status as a retired NHL referee exempted him from said signage.

Remember, Peel was the same referee who was basically forced to retire after a hot-mic incident where he said he 'wanted' to call a penalty on a team. The story is more nuanced than that, of course.

The issue of 'make-up calls' raged on afterwards, but Peel has lived in relative infamy ever since. This story - to many - isn't too surprising given the previous display of character.

Peel received - essentially - a slap on the wrist. He was barred from coaching for 30 days (which he isn't even doing at the moment), barred from the officials' room for two years (which he doesn't even use since he's not a referee), and placed on a two-year probation but is not prohibited from spectating.

One of the boys' mothers said that any other parent would have received much harsher punishment, but since it's Tim Peel he got off lightly.

Peel declined comment, but his attorney stated that the retired NHL official did 'nothing improper.'

Full story: Sean Gentile, The Athletic

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