Assaulting coach back in the league

[outathm]

How would you handle this situation? A coach who was thrown out of a league for assaulting an umpire is now back in the same league coaching again.

When the assigner was asked by the assaulted umpire why this was he was told that the coach went to the board and was very apologetic about what had happened.

The coach has not made any attempt to get in touch with the umpire to apologize, and this umpire's information is posted on the leagues web site and in the leagues handbooks.

Thanks for the advice in advance.

[JEL]

Originally Posted by outathm

How would you handle this situation? A coach who was thrown out of a league for assaulting an umpire is now back in the same league coaching again.

When the assigner was asked by the assaulted umpire why this was he was told that the coach went to the board and was very apologetic about what had happened.

The coach has not made any attempt to get in touch with the umpire to apologize, and this umpire's information is posted on the leagues web site and in the leagues handbooks.

Thanks for the advice in advance.

Were there any criminal charges? If a judge didn't order anything I suppose a league can do whatever they want.

If this were a league I worked I would support an official's boycott. There should at least be a formal protest from the officials association.

[NCASAUmp]

I don't know the circumstances of the assault. If it was just an inadvertent "chest bump," I'd let it go. Watch him like a hawk, but nothing else. The last thing you want is to be perceived as holding a grudge.

However, something tells me that this is not the case. Sounds to me like something serious happened, probably along the lines of cops called, kids crying, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria. If that's the case, if I were the umpire involved, I would not call in that league, and I would make my reason well-known.

[AtlUmpSteve]

Originally Posted by outathm

How would you handle this situation? A coach who was thrown out of a league for assaulting an umpire is now back in the same league coaching again.

When the assigner was asked by the assaulted umpire why this was he was told that the coach went to the board and was very apologetic about what had happened.

The coach has not made any attempt to get in touch with the umpire to apologize, and this umpire's information is posted on the leagues web site and in the leagues handbooks.

Thanks for the advice in advance.

If there are outstanding criminal charges, everyone in your association needs to walk off any game where he is on the field. The league can address that decision with the other teams, since they made the decision to let him back before he was adjudicated.

Assuming there are no outstanding criminal charges, the assignor or your association president needs to be very clear to the league, as well as direct to ALL your association umpires. Umpires need to do their job; professionally, and without baiting that coach. That said, ZERO TOLERANCE!!

If the assaulted umpire want to recuse himself, his call. Personally, I would be on his games and in his face until he is man enough to apologize. And the zero tolerance would continue until he does publicly apologize.

But, that's just me.

Sounds like this league needs to adopt the policy we have for the city leagues here in Omaha (and it's starting to gain popularity in the area) which is ANY assault on an umpire leads to lifetime ban from playing not only in the city leagues, but a report to ASA so the ban extends to any ASA-sanctioned event, esstentially putting the fool out of the sport because the USSSA and other alphabet soupers will get wind of it, and the fool would be pretty much black-balled. In the seven years since a new group took over operating the city leagues in Omaha, noone has been banned yet that I know of, because we do take this zero tolerance seriously. If you're interested, check out the "League Playing Rules" link on Welcome to Metro Omaha Softball.

[IRISHMAFIA]

Originally Posted by Ref Ump Welsch

Sounds like this league needs to adopt the policy we have for the city leagues here in Omaha (and it's starting to gain popularity in the area) which is ANY assault on an umpire leads to lifetime ban from playing not only in the city leagues, but a report to ASA so the ban extends to any ASA-sanctioned event, esstentially putting the fool out of the sport because the USSSA and other alphabet soupers will get wind of it, and the fool would be pretty much black-balled. In the seven years since a new group took over operating the city leagues in Omaha, noone has been banned yet that I know of, because we do take this zero tolerance seriously. If you're interested, check out the "League Playing Rules" link on Welcome to Metro Omaha Softball.

Well, that isn't quite the way it works.

ASA requires a hearing and I believe there is an appeal process in place. Also, depending on the area and those involved, some other organizations couldn't care less what ASA does.

[outathm]

This is how the assault went down. I should have included this in the original post:

Umpire had forfeited the game due to the coach's team only having 7 players. While the umpire was on the phone in the parking lot talking to the assigner, partner standing with him' the coach came out to the cars and was yelling at the umpire. The umpire told the assigner that he thought it would be a good idea for the assigner to come out to the park. When the assigner asked why the umpire held the phone out so that the coach's yelling could be heard clearly.

The coach then slapped the phone out of the umpire's hand.

At this point the umpire's eye's 'went blank' according to the partner and the umpire walked away.

As a further point of reference, the partner in question was a Jr. umpire and the umpire with the phone is a former Green Beret. I can only imagine what would have happened if the umpire had not regained composure and walked away when he did.

That evening the Board of the league met and took this coach's team from him and broke the team up into the other teams so that the girls could continue to play.

At the start of the Spring season the coach in question went to the Board and apologized for his actions. No apology has been received by the umpire.

Originally Posted by outathm

This is how the assault went down. I should have included this in the original post:

Umpire had forfeited the game due to the coach's team only having 7 players. While the umpire was on the phone in the parking lot talking to the assigner, partner standing with him' the coach came out to the cars and was yelling at the umpire. The umpire told the assigner that he thought it would be a good idea for the assigner to come out to the park. When the assigner asked why the umpire held the phone out so that the coach's yelling could be heard clearly.

The coach then slapped the phone out of the umpire's hand.

At this point the umpire's eye's 'went blank' according to the partner and the umpire walked away.

As a further point of reference, the partner in question was a Jr. umpire and the umpire with the phone is a former Green Beret. I can only imagine what would have happened if the umpire had not regained composure and walked away when he did.

That evening the Board of the league met and took this coach's team from him and broke the team up into the other teams so that the girls could continue to play.

At the start of the Spring season the coach in question went to the Board and apologized for his actions. No apology has been received by the umpire.

What state are you in? Or more importantly, are you in a state that has a law on the books regarding assaulting sports officials? If so, then the board are a bunch of pantsies for letting this fool back into coaching!

Originally Posted by IRISHMAFIA

Well, that isn't quite the way it works.

ASA requires a hearing and I believe there is an appeal process in place. Also, depending on the area and those involved, some other organizations couldn't care less what ASA does.

True, but word does get around in our area. I know one person was asked to stop playing ball in one of the cities here, because he was quite verbally abusive of not only umpires but towards opponents and some of his own teammates (he was the team manager). Once he started losing some of his own players, and word got around to the softball coordinators of his attitude, he found it almost impossible to hook up with a team just to play for fun. Even some folks who played coed wreck ball didn't want him around. So, word does get around.

One city here does use USSSA as its league sanction, but it's clear in their rules if a person has been banned by ANY softball organization, they can't play in that city. So if Omaha bans someone (and it's ASA), it applies across the river as well. How they monitor it, I wouldn't know because I don't think we've had anyone who's been banned.

And usually, ASA will uphold a ban from a local league if it went through channels, but like I said, we haven't had to ban anyone so I wouldn't know if any appeals were successful or not.