A wild brawl broke out at a youth baseball game in Florida Saturday when a dad of one of the players allegedly slugged the umpire’s father in the face over a controversial call.
The “bench-clearing brawl” broke out at the Chain of the Lakes Park Complex Baseball Fields in Winter Haven, Fla. just after 6 p.m., right in the midst of a youth baseball tournament, according to authorities.
Yosmany Guzman Fernandez, 38, stormed over to the young umpire’s father to complain about a warning issued to Marcos Antonio Aballi, the 25-year-old coach for his son’s team, the Winter Haven Public Safety Department said.
Fernandez allegedly sucker punched the umpire’s father in the face, which sparked a larger melee as swaths of teenagers and other spectators rushed towards the chaos, according to shocking video footage captured by a bystander.
The footage showed two men rolling on the concrete while other uniformed players and spectators fell into their own fights nearby. One man tried to forcibly break up the primary tussle by tugging them apart by the backs of their shirts, but the mayhem only calmed once a burly man stepped in.
The 21-year-old umpire scrambled to his father’s aid with the rest of the unruly dugout in tow, but he was dragged into the scuffle, according to police.
Coach Aballi and Fernandez’s 17-year-old son also jumped into the skirmish and allegedly thrashed the umpire and his father. A witness hauled the teenager out of the pile-up, but police said he immediately shook them off and re-entered the fight.
A witness also attempted to shield the umpire but was beaten by the mob, cops said.
Police vaguely noted that Fernandez and the umpire’s father “have had negative encounters in the past.”
“There is absolutely no room for parents to ruin what should be a great showcase of sports talent during these tournaments,” Police Chief Vance Monroe said in a statement. “The talent of players should be in the spotlight — not the actions of these instigators.”
Aballi, Fernandez, and Fernandez’s son were all taken into custody and charged with battery on a sports official during an event, which as a third-degree felony is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Fernandez was slapped with an additional charge for simple battery, according to the news release.
On the other end of the country, a similar fracas erupted at a flag football tournament in Arizona when players on two teams started to throw punches on the field. Parents swarmed around the fight to back up their children — until it swelled to a 100-man clash.
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