Bruce Fedyck-Imagn Images
Every sport has its own unique set of rules, but virtually all of them are united by the one violation that’s all but guaranteed to land an athlete in hot water: making contact with an official. AHL player Adam Beckman probably didn’t mean to send a ref flying into the boards during a recent game, but he’s nonetheless been suspended 10 games for doing exactly that.
It’s hard to envy the referees, umpires, and other officials who are routinely subjected to verbal abuse from the players, coaches, and fans who are usually not afraid to voice their displeasure with their abilities when they feel their team has been wronged.
People in that line of work have the power to discipline offenders who cross the line when it comes to airing their grievances, and while most people aren’t stupid enough to physically assault those mediators, there have been more than a few ugly instances involving some particularly unhinged individuals who’ve attacked an official in a fit of rage.
That was not the case with what went down when the Bridgeport Islanders hosted the Charlotte Checkers for an AHL showdown on April 5th, but a player on the former has nonetheless been hit with a lengthy suspension thanks to what transpired.
Adam Becker, a winger who’s appeared in 23 games for the Minnesota Wild but has spent the bulk of his professional career at the AHL level, was pursuing the puck in the corner midway through the third period of that contest when he shoved a referee who subsequently went sailing into the boards.
The play that earned Adam Beckman a 10-game suspension for abuse of official #Isles pic.twitter.com/lObYwCuaZx
— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) April 9, 2025
It’s pretty obvious Beckman was instinctively battling for space and assumed he made contact with an opposing player who turned out to be the unsuspecting referee, and while he wasn’t issued a penalty during the game, the AHL announced he’s been suspended for 10 games for “physical abuse of an official” under rule 40.3.
The 23-year-old forward will miss the last five games of the regular season (Bridgeport didn’t even come close to sniffing the playoffs after firmly cementing itself as the worst team in the AHL this year) and will be forced to serve out the remaining five next season if it’s not reduced upon the appeal he should almost certainly file given the circumstances.