VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 27 (UPI) — A Canadian hockey coach captured on video tripping a young player has been sentenced to 15 days in jail, officials say.
Martin Tremblay, 48, had pleaded guilty in November to two counts of assault, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Tuesday.
He had been filmed in June knocking the skates out from under a 13-year-old hockey player following a game in June at UBC Thunderbird Arena in Vancouver.
The boy broke his wrist and fell into a 10-year-old player.
The trip was caught on tape and posted on YouTube.
Judge Patrick Chen also sentenced Tremblay to 12 months probation. He compared the coach’s actions to a “cowardly sucker punch.”
Robert Bellows, Tremblay’s attorney, said his client had “paid a huge price,” including a loss of contracts for his contracting business and a breakdown in his marriage.
Bellows had asked for a suspended sentence, saying Tremblay had been under a lot of pressure just before the tripping incident.
Copyright 2013 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).
