Fan Ejection?

[Rich Ives]

Originally Posted by BSBAL18

I have read many forums that umpires *can not* eject a fan. He is to talk to the coach about getting his fans under control, but then the text stops there. I am currently looking at the online conflict management stuff thats required by my state, and it refers to conflict management after a fan has been ejected and being alert to exits and where local police may be in case of altercations.

My question is. CAN AN UMPIRE EJECT A FAN? If not, and the umpire has told the coach to get his fans in order, what is the next step if the fan continues? (i am talking about Youth league, but knowing the NCAA/etc rules may also be advantageous for the group in general)

You cannot eject a fan. Your jurisdiction is th field of play.

You CAN ask the site coordinator/league officer/TD to take care of it.

It isn't the coach's job either - he has enough to worry about.

[LRZ]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

You cannot eject a fan. Your jurisdiction is th field of play.

You CAN ask the site coordinator/league officer/TD to take care of it.

It isn't the coach's job either - he has enough to worry about.

Here, we don't have those officials present for spring/summer league games, and, again here, many leagues, by local rule, make it the coach's responsibility.

Next step, if problem fan doesn't stop or doesn't leave, might be something like, "Coach, we are not continuing play until he/she leaves."

[BoomerSooner]

Originally Posted by Rich Ives

You cannot eject a fan. Your jurisdiction is th field of play.

You CAN ask the site coordinator/league officer/TD to take care of it.

It isn't the coach's job either - he has enough to worry about.

^ This ^

An umpire should always be aware of who is in charge of game management. That person can range from a school administrator (AD, Principal, District Admin) to a league supervisor/admin to a tournament director. Unless otherwise stated, that person handles everything outside the field and the umpire handles everything inside it once play has started. Hopefully the person in charge will handle a spectator that needs to leave without any involvement from an umpire.

The question I have for everyone is what is behind the need for us to worry about ejecting spectators. I was trained that the extent to which I needed to worry about spectators was limited to interference and interruption. If a fan interferes with a live ball, follow the rules for dealing with the situation. If a fan interrupts the game (enters the field, throws items onto the field, etc), suspend play until it is safe to resume play. Make sure game management is aware of the situation and what needs to happen to resume play. I'm not saying I don't hear fans screaming at me, but I've never felt like I couldn't continue a game unless said fan was removed. Maybe I've also been fortunate enough to have game/site managers that took care of the problem before I cracked (because I'll be honest, there probably is a point at which I'd want someone tossed, but it hasn't happened yet).