Any parent will tell you that having kids can be an emotional rollercoaster. It's hard to just sit back and let things take their course when it feels like your kid is getting the short end of the stick.
There's a difference between sticking up for your kid and ruining everyone else's fun, and parents at a youth baseball game found this out the hard way when the official decided he'd had enough of their negativity.
The video was shared on Reddit and users were quick to comment.
The video is appropriately posted to the r/PublicFreakout subreddit. You can see the umpire in the middle of a heated debate with some parents who are watching the game.
"If you don't [stop], I'm going to forfeit the team," the umpire warns the parents. One of the parents seems to agree to stop, but the group continues yelling at the umpire.
At this, he follows through on his warning and declares the game a forfeit. One of the parents sarcastically asks if he feels better, to which he responds, "I feel fine."
Again, it's easy to understand why parents are passionate about the things their kids do, but at the same time, they need to recognize what's important and what isn't — and surely there can't be anything that's worth bullying a teenager who's officiating a low-stakes kids' baseball game over.
The parents continue whining, with one of the moms (and apparent wife to the lead heckler) telling the umpire that her hubby is a firefighter. Did she think this was a flex or a get-out-of-jail-free card for any time he acts like a jerk?
In his final exchange, the ump calls the parents out for "arguing balls and strikes at a Little League game." The mad dad yells back something about "walking out like a man to you," showing that he's been reduced to tropes of toxic masculinity.
Parents, what's the wildest thing you've ever seen go down at a kids' sporting event? It's sadly all too common to see parents berating officials or worse, getting physical, which shows that these seemingly meaningless games mean a great deal to some people.
Let us know what you think in the comments.
