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Angry parents in Georgia confronted referees after a state playoff basketball game on Wednesday. One had to be taken to the ground by police.
Video of the ugly scene has since gone viral on social media. The reaction came following a highly contested matchup between Statesboro and Winder-Barrow.
Those two schools are separated by about three and a half hours. The Blue Devils play in Statesboro, located in between Augusta and Savannah.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, play closer to Athens.
Winder-Barrow was a one-seed in the Class 5A Boys’ bracket. It hosted the fourth-seeded Blue Devils in the tournament’s opening round.
The Bulldogs would leave with a close 68-63 victory to keep their season alive. Despite the win, parents were unhappy.
Georgia parents confront high school basketball ref.
After the Statesboro game parents go a little wild trying to go after a ref. Check out the guy getting in cops face on left and paying the price 😂 pic.twitter.com/PfLIVMwcow
— Josh Aubrey (@thejoshaubrey) February 26, 2026
Josh Aubrey of the Statesboro Herald captured footage of the scene and quickly posted it to X. In the video, it is difficult to tell which side was upset.
Amy Zimmer of ABC affiliate WJCL in Savannah revealed that it was Winder-Barrow parents that were angry.
“Tempers boiled after the final buzzer. Statesboro falling 68-63, but that’s not enough to keep Winder-Barrow parents happy… A few Winder-Barrow parents were upset with one of the officials, and confronted him after the game before police and others stepped in.
“Police even had to tackle one parent to the ground and held him until order was restored.”
-Amy Zimmer
In the bottom corner of the video posted to social media, you can see the police officer shove a parent to the ground. All the while, the Georgia high school basketball official searched for safety away from the angry mob.
What sparked the reaction is still a bit unclear. Despite parents feeling slighted, the Bulldogs picked up the win to advance to the next playoff round.
Winder-Barrow will face Decatur in Game 2 of the postseason. Statesboro’s season is over.