The teenage umpire who was officiating a game of baseball between two teams of 7-year-olds is speaking out about how parents from both teams ended up in a full-on brawl as a result of one of his calls. Just a few days ago police were called to City of Lakewood fields in Lakewood, Colorado when parents from both sides began to physically fight after disagreeing with a call made by the 13-year-old umpire.
Josh Cordova was the umpire in that game and he explained to NBC affiliate KUSA in Denver that the atmosphere between both the coaches and the fans of both teams had been contentious throughout the game, telling the news station that there had been a lot of 'chirping' back and forth. He explained that he finally decided to issue a formal warning for both sides to behave "when an old man dropped the f-bomb on the sidelines."
Deemed the only mature adult on the field during a stands-clearing brawl amongst parents in Lakewood, Colorado, 13-year-old umpire Josh Cordova, spoke to KUSA of Denver about the massive fight and what led to the criminal acts that followed, telling the … https://t.co/qtzXVGzTp5 pic.twitter.com/Af1rQZUNQf
— UEFL (@UmpireEjections) June 21, 2019
"It was kind of weird," the 13-year-old said. "I shouldn't have to tell a grown man how to act around little kids." Unfortunately, the umpire's warning only made the parents and fans on the opposing team behave worse as they began to argue about whether the man who used the curse word should be ejected from the premises or not.
“It was very chaotic and I was scared not only for me but the 7-year-olds who happened to be on the field at the time,” Cordova said. “We never thought anyone would fight at a Little League Baseball game.”
"I issued it (the warning) to the entire field, and then everybody started yelling and screaming and it just got really chaotic, like, 'He should be ejected, he should be out of there.' Coaches were pointing," Cordova told KUSA. “I thought maybe by issuing a warning everyone would just chill, take a step back and realize how stupid they were acting … but (I) guess not,” Cordova added.
What happened next was a brawl involving fists being thrown by adults on both teams, with police arriving and issuing citations.
These adults took over the field and began assaulting each other on 6/15 during a youth baseball game. We're looking for any info, in particular to ID the man in the white shirt/teal shorts. Several people have already been cited in this fight and injuries were reported. pic.twitter.com/ieenhwCrbU
— Lakewood Police (@LakewoodPDCO) June 18, 2019
Cordova is a shortstop and catcher for his own baseball team who loves to teach younger children the game and work as an umpire when he's not playing. He said he's not going to let this incident keep him from working, a job he does to help his parents fund his own baseball career, stating he would do the same thing again. Hopefully, he won't have to.
The umpire said he had warned parents about using foul language in front of 7-year-olds before the fight broke out.
Posted by 9NEWS (KUSA) on Thursday, June 20, 2019
“I just try to be a great example for the kids and show them how to play baseball,” Cordova said.
According to The Bear Creek Junior Sports Association, all parents and coaches involved in the baseball brawl are no longer welcome members of the association.
Read Next: Kids Who Play Sports At A Young Age Less Likely To Have Anxiety
Leave A Comment