A youth baseball coach in The Colony, Texas, became so enraged by a call at the plate and being ejected that he shoved the umpire to the ground, viral video shows. (Watch it below.)
The Colony police awaited the signing of an arrest warrant for the coach on a charge of misdemeanor assault to cause bodily injury, police spokesperson Rick De La Cruz told HuffPost on Wednesday.
The coach, whose name was being withheld by law enforcement as of Wednesday afternoon, was banned from further tournaments.
“The worst thing was the kids having to see this,” L’Erin Hampton, whose 24 Sports organization ran the competition, told HuffPost on Wednesday.
The umpire, Sam Phelps, told Fox 4 that his neck snapped back from the impact. A witness, Ryan Walke, said Phelps was on the ground for 10 to 15 minutes before being taken to the hospital on a stretcher.
Walke said he tried to stop the Abilene-based coach from driving away after Saturday’s incident but was unsuccessful.
Viral video from Fox 4 shows Phelps calling a runner safe in a sliding play at the plate, then the coach walking out to object. The two exchange words before Phelps ejects him by motioning with his hand and yelling, “You’re out!” The coach then lunges at the official, knocking him down.
“If there are no consequences, this kind of thing will continue,” Phelps said to the station.
While not banned, the players from Abilene will have to regroup under new leadership in order to play in 24 Sports competitions again, Hampton said.