[JRutledge]

Softball dad guilty in assault of ump
Naperville man awaits sentencing
By Art Barnum
Tribune staff reporter

May 10, 2005

The Naperville father of a high school softball player was convicted Monday of misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct for swearing at and threatening an umpire.

Mark Riley, 44, faces up to 30 days in the County Jail when he is sentenced June 6 by Judge Brian McKillip.

"The purpose of interscholastic sports is to build character," said McKillip, who convicted Riley of the two charges, but acquitted him of the more serious charge of battery, which carries a sentence of up to a year in jail.

Riley was arrested after an April 28, 2004 game in West Chicago between the freshman teams from Naperville Central and West Chicago High Schools.

Assistant State's Atty. William Wu said that in an early part of the game, Riley's daughter was warned about wearing an ear stud and made her remove it. Illinois high school rules prohibit wearing jewelry during sporting events.

The next inning, when the same girl came to bat, she was wearing a bracelet. The umpire ejected her.

Riley began yelling and cursing at the umpire from the sidelines and was ordered to leave the field area, Wu said.

"The parent became upset and disagreed with the call," Wu said.

The umpire, Phillip Garee, 18, a senior at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, testified that after the game as he was walking to his car, Riley approached him, stood in front of him, swore at him and poked his finger in his chest.

Marc Wolfe, Riley's attorney, said, "there is no evidence of any physical contact. This was nothing more than a school baseball game and a slight disagreement between a parent and an umpire."

Garee, who is IHSA-certified to be a softball umpire, said he was happy with the judge's decision.

"Umpires aren't protected enough," he said.


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