I was someone who was forced to play an unnecessary amount of sports as a kid, largely due to the fact that both my parents were convinced their children were going to be star athletes. Which didn’t exactly turn out, but they had four kids so the odds seemed good at least one of us would excel at something sports-related.
But since they were so sports savvy, my parents were also super passionate fans, so I endured plenty of games where my dad’s voice was louder than my coach’s, or where my mom inexplicably ended up as a third base coach while I was up to bat.
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Thankfully though, I never had to witness either of my parents throw a punch because the game wasn’t going the way they wanted.
On Saturday, a youth baseball game erupted into a brawl, but it wasn’t the players who were fighting.
According to Fox News , about a dozen parents stormed the diamond during the game in Lakewood, Colorado, after a bad call from the umpire left them all feeling pretty frustrated and looking for a way to release some of that anger.
A video capturing the entire event shows the furious parents brawling in at the batter’s box.
Meanwhile, their 7-year-old children can be seen standing stunned nearby, holding their baseball gloves and watching as their parents throw punches at each other over a call made by a 13-year-old umpire they didn’t agree with.
In the video, several parents can be seen storming the diamond to confront the young umpire.
People in the stands are heard yelling “He’s just a kid!” from the stands as they urge the ones on the field to back off. As the situation worsens, a punch is thrown, resulting in the rest of the parents crowding the diamond to let loose on each other.
Lakewood Police Department posted the video to their Twitter page in an effort to gather more information.
They are particularly looking to identify the man wearing a white shirt and teal shorts in the video, who is seen throwing several punches and targeting specific members of the mob in particular.
Following the fight, several injuries have been reported including one person with a “serious bodily injury.”
Police have condemned the participating parents for their actions over a simple youth baseball game.
“I think the saddest part in all of this is we’re talking about a 7-year-old baseball game,” police spokesman John Romero said. “I think it’s the parents who have to grow up.”
Another video has emerged and appears to show a pregnant woman wielding a baseball bat as a weapon.
In a video released by TMZ, the woman can be seen waving the metal bat around, screaming at people while another male parent tries to take it from her. This prompts other men on the field to tackle him, throwing him to the ground and punching him.
“It’s disgusting. I highly doubt that the Rockies had any scouts there during the game.”
Local police have already identified four people from the brawl but are still looking for more information.
On Twitter, people have shamed the parents for their actions.
“Disgraceful,” one user wrote, while another added that the parents clearly had “no regard for the children at all.”
Most are pointing out that this kind of behavior just sets a really bad example for their kids.
Shannon Hartmann, who officiates high school sports in the Lakewood area, said he had never seen anything like the events he saw in that video.
“Kids look up to you, my kid does,” he said. “If you don’t lead by example what do you expect the future to be?”
h/t: Fox News
