Mayor apologizes for heckling wrestling ref

The mayor of Bethlehem, Pa., apologized Monday to a referee who ejected him from a high school wrestling match over the weekend.

In an e-mail, Mayor John Callahan said that he should have handled "the incident better no matter how I felt about the calls made during the match" and that he respected that the referee, Dennis Buchman, has "the right to call the match the way he sees it."

"That said, both Mr. Buchman and I agree that this was a minor incident that has become overblown and unfortunately took away from the great effort and dedication shown by the young men who participated in the tournament," Callahan said.

Callahan did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

The seven-sentence statement was sent from Callahan's campaign e-mail account, Friends of John Callahan. Callahan announced this month that he would run for Northampton County executive.

The mayor's statement was accompanied by a release from Buchman that said he appreciated Callahan's apology.

"It meant a lot to me, and I think it sets a good example for our fans and young athletes involved in sports," he said in the statement.

Buchman said in an interview that he had spent the last day fielding questions from reporters.

"I understand the media has a job to do but this has gotten blown out of proportion," Buchman said. "I appreciate the mayor reaching out to me. To me, it's over."

Callahan, one of the Lehigh Valley's most prominent Democrats, was ejected Saturday night from the District 11 wrestling tournament at Liberty High School after shouting at Buchman, a respected wrestling referee.

Buchman said Callahan had been screaming the entire time during a bout between wrestlers from Bethlehem's two high schools.

Callahan, father of a Freedom High School wrestler, said he yelled "that was an awful call" one time during a match after his son's.

On his way out the door, Callahan told Buchman he had "rabbit ears," implying the referee was overly sensitive to criticism from the stands.