Youth sports can be a great team-building exercise for teenagers learning the aspects of the game, but sometimes, the competition between people's kids can get parents so worked up and opinionated, they can often take it out on the umpires and officials who generally work as volunteers or earn around $50 per game.
However, one umpire at a youth baseball game in Newport Harbor, California ran out of patience for the brutal heckling he'd faced from parents when he stopped the game to address the parents who'd been disrespecting him while he was calling the game.
"Enough, I'm not hearing another word out of any of you," the umpire can be heard telling one parent sitting behind home plate. "If you want to have a game here, quiet down."
The umpire returns to the game, but as he does, one person can be heard calling out that the ump needed to "Stay professional for the kids and just do your job. That's it."
The hostility from the parents in the stands even got person, as one person can be heard shouting a personal insult at the man, saying: "Are you mad because the kids are taller than you?"
That's when the umpire decided he'd had enough of the heckling, and walked off the field, ending the game. The video follows the man as he goes out to the parking lot and get into his car, leaving the hecklers behind.
Video of the incident was uploaded to TikTok, where it's been liked more than 340,000 times.
This isn't the only incident of parents being absolutely brutal to youth sports umpires over the last week. According to the Polk County Sheriff's office, a Florida man, identified as Alberto Ramos, 22, was taken into custody after he allegedly punched a Little League umpire in the face when he was asked to leave the park, a press release states. Ramos allegedly approached the umpire after the game to complain about one of the head umpire's calls. The situation escalated, with Ramos at one point screaming at the umpire that he was going to "kick his ass."
The umpire in that case suffered a cut lip and one of his teeth was broken in the assault. The alleged assailant, identified as Alberto Ramos, 22, is facing one count of felony battery to a sports official.
“Assaulting a little league official while he’s officiating at a game where children are supposed to be having fun, and learning sportsmanlike behavior,” Sheriff Grady Judd said in the release. “Not only was he arrested, he’s also been trespassed from the ballpark.”
Ramos posted a $1,000 bond and has been released.