Father absolved of assault in alleged threat to hockey player

PORTLAND – A Portland doctor accused of menacing a youth hockey player who put a hard check on his son during a game three years ago was absolved of assault after a two-day jury trial but was ordered to pay for counseling for the boy.

Jurors found Demetri Antoniou, who lives in Cumberland, guilty of intentional infliction of emotional distress and awarded $320 to the family of Jordan Hale to cover counseling costs for the boy, who was a seventh-grader at the time of the incident.

The dispute, which came amid growing concern about overzealous parents attending sporting events, stemmed from a Casco Bay Youth Hockey League game in December 2001 in which Antoniou’s son Michael was sent tumbling to the ice after being checked by Hale.

Three weeks later, Thomas Junta went on trial in Massachusetts for beating another hockey player’s father to death outside an ice rink. He was convicted of manslaughter.

After the game in Falmouth, Antoniou’s father went into Hale’s dressing room, allegedly waved the butt end of a hockey stick and told Hale, who was then 13, to keep away from his son. Hale heard him say, “I’ll get you next time.”

Antoniou did not make contact with Hale during the incident, and he later withdrew his own son from the youth hockey league.

Jurors began deliberations during the afternoon after hearing the defense’s presentation and closing arguments. If Antoniou had been found liable, the trial would have entered a second phase to determine the amount of damages.

Hale’s attorney asked the jury to punish Antoniou for his behavior and send a message to other parents who go too far while watching youth sports.

Antoniou acknowledged through his lawyer that he swore at Hale, but denied ever threatening him or brandishing a stick. His attorney, Peter DeTroy, called the accusations “contrivances and rumors that metamorphosed into something it never was.”

During the trial, Hale said he was frightened when Antoniou came into the dressing room, thinking he might get struck with the hockey stick Antoniou was carrying.

“If Coach wasn’t there, he might have hit me with it,” Hale testified. “He was very angry, and he looked like he meant it.”

The boy’s father, Michael Hale, testified that Jordan became lethargic and tentative after the locker room confrontation, and the elder Hale became concerned when Jordan’s teachers and coaches noticed something wrong with the boy.

Hale said he called Antoniou for assurance that his son would be safe, but he was not satisfied with his response.