Beloved Youth Sports Referee Dies on Court During Basketball Game: ‘He Truly Died Doing What He Loved’

NEED TO KNOW

• A beloved youth sports referee has died after collapsing during a high school basketball game on Friday night
• The Central Indiana youth sports community mourned Jeff Tamarri's death this week
• Tamarri, known as "Jeff the Ref" to many Indiana sports families, officiated youth sporting events for more than 30 years

A beloved youth sports referee who worked games across Central Indiana for more than three decades has died after collapsing on the court during a girls' high school basketball game.

Jeff Tamarri, who was known among families as “Jeff the Ref,” was 63 years old.

Tamarri collapsed during a game at Monrovia High School on Friday, Dec. 12, according to NBC affiliate WTHR and the IndyStar.

WTHR reported that Tamarri’s collapse prompted fans to clear the gym so bystanders with medical backgrounds could work on saving him until first responders arrived. 

“I have no doubt in my mind that they did all they could,” fellow youth sports referee Kevin Brown told WTHR. “Unfortunately, I just don’t think there was much to be done.”

Brown mourned Tamarri as a sports referee who enjoyed his job and “was always out there for the right reasons.”

“He truly died doing what I know he loved,” Brown said.

“He had a calming presence, and I always said officials need to lower the temperature in the room,” Brown told WTHR. “Some people are really gifted at it. He was really gifted at it.”

Tamarri’s fellow referee told the outlet that his late colleague appeared to have “some sort of cardiac event” before collapsing on the court. “It was a simple offensive rebound right in the middle of the second quarter, and he turned around to get position on it” before collapsing, Brown told WTHR.

The outlet estimated that Tamarri officiated thousands of youth sports games across his 30-plus year career.

Fellow referee Derek Whitfield announced Tamarri’s death in a post on a local youth umpiring social media page, saying although it “leaves an immense void in our hearts, there is a quiet comfort in knowing he left us pursuing his passion, surrounded by sports that defined so much of his life.”

“Jeff was more than an outstanding official who graced countless games across many sports; he was a mentor, a friend, and a guiding light to young athletes, coaches, and fellow umpires alike,” Whitfield wrote, adding, “Those who knew Jeff will forever remember his warm, infectious smile and the deep, authentic love he showed to players, coaches, colleagues, friends, and his family.”

Referee Terry Taylor, who Whitfield described as Tamarri’s best friend and longtime roommate, told WTHR that Tamarri “was such a great guy.”

"We'd see a lot of faces, the same faces in different sports," Taylor said. "So from Grand Park to Zionsville to Danville, where we worked a lot in the last few years, there were a lot of upset kids Saturday when they found out.”

Read the original article on People