An umpire who worked a youth baseball game in Texas on Saturday has pressed charges after he was assaulted by one of the team’s coaches.
Longtime umpire Sam Phelps told Peyton Yager of FOX 4 that he was working one of his several assigned games in Denton when a coach from the Abilene team disagreed with multiple calls. The coach came out of the dugout to express his displeasure after Phelps called a runner safe at home. Things then took an ugly turn.
“I ejected him, and I held up my hand and said, ‘We aren’t doing this, coach,’” Phelps recalled. “And then he held up his hand to mock me saying, ‘Oh, we aren’t doing this.’ And then he shoved me right in the face, and I fell backwards and hit my head. And I was down for a while.”
You can see the incident in the video below:
Last night, we spoke to an umpire from Denton, TX who said he’s pressing charges against a boy’s baseball coach after he was assaulted on Saturday.
This morning, @FOX4 obtained video of the incident.
The umpire was released from the hospital and is at home recovering.@FOX4 pic.twitter.com/fUN5cAjE0q
— Peyton Yager (@peytonyager) April 12, 2022
One parent of a 10-year-old player said Phelps was on the ground for about 10 or 15 minutes. An ambulance then came onto the field and paramedics placed him on a stretcher. Phelps was taken to a local hospital and evaluated for a concussion before being released on Saturday evening.
Phelps filed a police report after he was released from the hospital.
“If there are no consequences, this can continue,” he said.
The coach who attacked Phelps was reached by FOX 4 on Monday. He admitted he crossed the line and said he hopes he can apologize to Phelps one day and shake his hand.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time we have seen an official attacked during a youth sporting event.
