Referee Joe Gaskin OK after suffering a cardiac event in first quarter of Nassau Class A boys basketball final
Referee Joe Gaskin suffered a cardiac event during the first quarter of the Nassau Class A boys basketball final between Floral Park and West Hempstead on Saturday afternoon at Farmingdale State.
Gaskin was responsive leaving the gym on a stretcher on the way to the Plainview Hospital. Gaskin is expected to recover, and peers received a picture of him smiling after the game.
Gaskin collapsed with 2:58 remaining in the first quarter, around 4:25 p.m. CPR was performed and an AED was administered.
Both teams returned to their locker rooms after Gaskin went down. After a 10-minute warm-up, play resumed at 4:49 p.m.
“I’ve known Joe a very long time,” Floral Park coach Sean Boyle said. “So when I saw him go down, I kind of ran over and was yelling his name because, you know, I think everyone in the room was scared. And fortunately for us and for him, we got a picture of him healthy in the hospital and smiling, so thank God.”
Ben Dickson joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.