Angry, high-ranking state lawmaker appears to try pulling down pants of HS basketball referee, admits he 'acted the fool'

A high-ranking Tennessee state lawmaker was caught on video apparently trying to pull down the pants of a high school basketball referee during an argument earlier this week.

State Rep. Jeremy Faison — chairman of the state House Republican Caucus, the Tennessean reported — later admitted he "acted the fool" and was "bad wrong" and hoped to apologize to the official for his actions, according a statement he posted on Twitter.

Republican Tennessee state Rep. Jeremy FaisonImage source: Tennessee General Assembly website

What are the details?

Johnson City's Providence Academy recorded live on Facebook the game against Lakeway Christian Academy, which was visiting Tuesday night, the paper said. Video no longer exists on the school's Facebook page, but versions of it can be viewed on social media.

With seconds to go in the third quarter, a fight over a loose ball led to technical fouls for both teams, the Tennessean said. Video shows Faison sitting in the stands before heading to the court while referees broke up the fight, the paper said.

Game official Paul Pendleton later filed a report with the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association — standard procedure following incidents at games — and the report said Pendleton told Faison to leave the gym, the Tennessean said.

Faison began to walk away before turning and pointing at an official, the paper said.

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @HeartlandSignal

"You can't tell me to leave the floor, this was your fault," Faison said to Pendleton, the Tennessean said, citing the report.

Then video shows Faison bending down and apparently attempting to pull down Pendleton's pants, the paper said, adding that the referee's report said Faison tried to pull his pants "down and off."

Image source: Twitter video screenshot via @HeartlandSignal

The Tennessean said shouts were heard as Faison walked away and someone called for police.

The report states Pendleton asked a game administrator to call the police, but police weren't called and Faison left "without further incident," the paper said.

Here's the clip:

What did the state lawmaker have to say?

While the Tennessean said Faison couldn't be reached by telephone for comment by mid-afternoon Wednesday, he had plenty to say on Twitter.

"For years I thought how wrong it is when a parent looses [sic] their temper at a sporting event," Faison wrote on Twitter. "It’s not Christian, and it’s not mature, and it’s embarrassing to the child have always been my thoughts."

He added, "Unfortunately, I acted the fool tonight and lost my temper on a ref. I was wanting him to fight me. Totally lost my junk and got booted ... from the gym. I’ve never really lost my temper, but I did tonight, and it was completely stupid of me. Emotions getting in the way of rational thoughts are never good. I hope to be able to find the ref and ask for his forgiveness. I was bad wrong."