Cell phone video captured the crazy moment parents at a youth softball tournament got into a huge brawl on the sidelines leading organizers to disqualify two teams from the competition.
The chaotic scene went down Saturday afternoon at Brickyard Park during the Tri-Cities 12 and under girls softball tournament in Kingsport, Tennessee.
In Facebook video posted by spectator Bryan Sayers, nearly a dozen parents are seen throwing punches at each other and tussling on the ground as several people scream at them to stop.
Some of the young players are seen in the footage crying and yelling at their parents to break it up.
Nearly a dozen parents at a youth softball tournament in Tennessee got into a fight on Saturday
The fight started after parents got angry over calls the umpire was making in favor of the rival team
One person said someone was pushed down a slope on the sidelines of the field and things quickly escalated
Those involved in the fight were parents of players on the East Wilkes Cardinals and the Blue Bishop Ridge Explosion
Todd McLemore, the athletic program coordinator for Kingsport’s Park and Recreation Department, told the Times News that the people involved in the fight were parents of players on the East Wilkes Cardinals and the Blue Bishop Ridge Explosion.
The fight didn’t last long but led to organizers kicking both teams off the field and disqualify them from the competition.
USA Softball Tournament Director Tina Gale told WJHL that the teams, from North Carolina, have been removed from any future tournaments as administrators investigate the sideline showdown.
‘I’ve done this for 10 years and never once had a physical altercation. This was the first and hopefully the last,’ Gale told the Times News. ‘We run a very clean organization, we run good tournaments, but unfortunately it happened on our dime and we don’t take things like this lightly. We would never condone that kind of conduct.’
McLemore said that the Cardinals had won a game before the fight and the team was waiting to play the winner of another game involving Blue Ridge.
‘Apparently some spectators were very vocal towards the umpire calls in favor of Blue Ridge and it just louder and louder.’ he told the Times News.
He said parents from the Blue Ridge team confronted players from the Cardinals and someone ended up getting pushed down a slope near the field. That’s when things escalated and parents started throwing punches at each other.
Police were called to the chaotic scene but no one was arrested and no charges were filed
Because of the fight the e East Wilkes Cardinals and the Blue Bishop Ridge Explosion were kicked off the field and are not allowed to participate in future tournaments
Players from the softball teams were seen crying and yelling at their parents to stop fighting
The fight was eventually broken up. Police said no one was injured during the brawl
The police were called to the chaotic scene but no arrests were made and no charges were filed. The Times News reports that no one was injured during the brawl.
Sayers’ video of the fight has been viewed more than 400,000 times on Facebook and is filled with comments from criticizing the parents.
‘Shame on them!!!’ Heidi Cobb posted.
‘Does any one see the kids watching grown folks act like rabid dogs this is so wrong,’ Tina Black wrote.
‘I hope all those involved feel ashamed. Those girls were crying and they are just kids they shouldn’t have to worry about stopping their parents from brawling on the grass because they have a friggin disagreement. How horrible,’ Kristine Winchester commented.