Parents Attacking Umpires

[uncdrew]

A simple solution is to ban parents/fans from the park.

The woman who punched the umpire is banned from the park. But what does that really mean? My girls play in 25 different parks in the area, and I put on a hat and I blend in pretty well.

The woman also got fined $412 or some random amount about that much. In my head, there might be a time I'd like to punch someone and would happily pay $412 to do so. Seemed way too lenient.

 

[PapaBear]

The problem with this logic/solution is this: What are you ejecting the coach for? S/he has not broken any rule. You are assuming that the problem in the crowd is the parent of one of his/her players. Crows will be what they are and as an umpire we deal with it by trying to tune it out. Nothing else you can do that doesn't in the end make the situation worse. The OTHER people (Coaches, TDs, ADs, league admins) need to step up and take care of this part of the sport (no matter what sport we are talking about)

Ejecting for not controlling their team/families that they are responsible for. First is a warning to the coach to diffuse the situation/crowd. Second is automatic ejection of parent and head coach. Under rules of USFA this would fall under rules 8-1, 8-2 and 8-3.

 

[Strike2]

The problem with this logic/solution is this: What are you ejecting the coach for? S/he has not broken any rule. You are assuming that the problem in the crowd is the parent of one of his/her players. Crows will be what they are and as an umpire we deal with it by trying to tune it out. Nothing else you can do that doesn't in the end make the situation worse. The OTHER people (Coaches, TDs, ADs, league admins) need to step up and take care of this part of the sport (no matter what sport we are talking about)

All depends on what we're talking about. If it's some chirping that dies away after a bit, that gets ignored. However, a more prolonged spectacle that includes abuse directed towards umpires, coaches, or players needs to be dealt with, and the umpire might have to initiate that. I agree that ejecting the coach who isn't part of the problem seems unreasonable. However, nothing says the umpire can't ask a coach to try to fix it. If that doesn't stop it, the umpire might need to personally call for league/tournament people and even suspend play until they arrive. I've seen that happen. If someone was creating enough of a problem, I wouldn't hesitate to call the cops as a spectator, coach, or umpire.

 

[PapaBear]

The woman who punched the umpire is banned from the park. But what does that really mean? My girls play in 25 different parks in the area, and I put on a hat and I blend in pretty well.

The woman also got fined $412 or some random amount about that much. In my head, there might be a time I'd like to punch someone and would happily pay $412 to do so. Seemed way too lenient.

Not sure too many teams will take a chance on the kid or parent. Might take of itself of being put on a self ban with no teams to play for.

 

[GunnerShotgun]

My girls play in 25 different parks in the area, and I put on a hat and I blend in pretty well.

Ban all fans period. Only players, umpires, coaches, trainers, and tournament directors are allowed. Stream the games and let everyone watch from their phones in the parking lot.

 

[Dabears17]

Ban all fans period. Only players, umpires, coaches, trainers, and tournament directors are allowed. Stream the games and let everyone watch from their phones in the parking lot.

Last season (because of Covid) one school in our league only allowed 3 coaches, a scorekeeper, a trainer from the home school, and the players at the field (of course the umpires as well). Everyone else had to watch from the outfield fence (since it was on a public sidewalk), or from the parking lot, watching from behind a locked gate 30 feet behind the backstop. Otherwise parents had to watch a live stream.

It might come to that permanently.

 

[EdLovrich]

I hate to state opinions about any of teh sanctioning bodies, but in this case I feel I need to. Personally, there is no way I would ever work a USFA event for the following reasons:

1) Umpires have no business in the crowd control business.
2) Umpires have even ;less business in the fee collection business: per USFA 8-4 All protests must be made with the umpire by the offended team at the time of the play and before the next pitch. A fee of $100.00 IN CASH (emphasis added) must accompany the protest.

Nope, this stuff they have crammed into their rule 8 has nothing to do with umpiring and more to do with administration.

 

[_MIA_]

I hate to state opinions about any of teh sanctioning bodies, but in this case I feel I need to. Personally, there is no way I would ever work a USFA event for the following reasons:

1) Umpires have no business in the crowd control business.
2) Umpires have even ;less business in the fee collection business: per USFA 8-4 All protests must be made with the umpire by the offended team at the time of the play and before the next pitch. A fee of $100.00 IN CASH (emphasis added) must accompany the protest.

Nope, this stuff they have crammed into their rule 8 has nothing to do with umpiring and more to do with administration.

I think USSSA requires cash for protests as well..unless I am misremembering what sanction it was where I saw this.

 

[Dabears17]

My memory is a little fuzzy, but my DD has been at tournaments when she was young where the tournament rules say if the fan(s) get out of hand and jaw at the umpires too much, the game is to stop until the fan(s) remove themselves.

At a PGF non-qualifier when DD was 13 our 3B coach got tossed because a parent said something and the umpire thought the coach said it. The umpire was on at least his 4th or 5th game of the day and it was an 8PM game that didn't start until at almost 9PM.

Umpire walked past our first bracket game on Sunday and when he saw our 3B coach on the field went and got the Tournament Director. Apparently rule was if a coach was ejected, he couldn't coach in the next game.

 

[EdLovrich]

USSSA:
RULE 13. PROTEST
Sec 2. The Tournament Director may at their discretion charge a protest fee of $100. Protests of player eligibility shall be charged per player.
Sec 3. The Plate Umpire shall suspend all action and notify the Tournament Officials of any protest. Tournament officials and the UIC will rule on all protests and their decision will be final.

USSSA has a separate rule for protests and clearly puts them in the TD/UIC' hands.

USFA has that mess in the Umpires rule and (apparently) put the responsibility on the umpires.