A little league baseball game in North Carolina took a wild turn this week when an irate umpire used his mask as a makeshift weapon.
A video recorded during a Monday night Little League game reveals a confrontation between the plate umpire and a coach, which bystanders are describing as an assault.
The incident occurred during a state championship tournament game between Bull City Little League and Cherryville, both 12-and-under teams, at Wilson’s Gillette Baseball Complex.
This is why nobody wants to umpire anymore pic.twitter.com/JsFbFJWXOV
— Not Gaetti (@notgaetti) July 18, 2024
In the top of the fifth inning, footage shows a Cherryville coach approaching the home plate umpire along the third base line. The umpire, Robby Beamon, audibly states that the coach should be ejected for using profanity.
As the two men reach home plate, the other umpire rushes in from the infield. The coach then shoves Beamon. While the second umpire attempts to separate them, Beamon swings his face mask at the coach’s head at least three times.
Of course, plate umpires don protective masks. They have metal bars and substantial cushioning to safeguard umps from pitches striking their face or head.
The Mask Weilding Little League Umpire Was Restrained by Another Coach
WRAL News reports that another coach intervened to break up the fight. Two coaches eventually escort Beamon out of the frame. Later, Beamon is seen on his back, restrained by one of the coaches.
Off-camera, people can be heard shouting that the actions amount to assault. The entire encounter lasts just over a minute. As the video concludes, the men are separated and walk off the field.
The Cherryville Little League Board of Directors released a statement acknowledging the incident. However, they refrained from further comments, citing the ongoing “information discovery stage.”
The umpires are scheduled by a third party and operate as independent contractors. This means neither the town nor the league has the authority to discipline Beamon directly.
Aaron Schoonmaker, president of Bull City Little League, expressed pride in his team’s conduct during Monday night’s game. He highlighted that none of the Bull City players, coaches, or parents were involved in the altercation.
While no one ended up in handcuffs, both the umpire and coach got benched with a suspension after the incident. Reportedly, police weren’t even called to the park.