A little league umpire from Denton is planning to press charges against the coach who shoved him to the ground during a game this past Saturday.
Sam Phelps was working the game at the Five Star Baseball Complex in The Colony when he says a coach from an Abilene team disagreed with multiple calls he was making.
After a close call at home plate, the Abilene coach confronted Phelps, and after the umpire kicked him out of the game, shoved him to the ground!
Phelps told FOX 4, "I ejected him, and I held up my hand and said, 'We aren't doing this, coach.' And then he held up his hand to mock me saying, 'Oh, we aren't doing this.' And then he shoved me right in the face, and I fell backwards and hit my head. And I was down for a while."
Ryan Walke was watching his 10-year-old son play on the neighboring field, and he recalled the incident saying, "He was on the ground for 10 to 15 minutes. The ambulance came out there. Put him on a stretcher. Scary times."
Walke also says he followed the coach out into the parking lot to prevent him from leaving, but the coach got his car and drove away. "First thing is first. He is the coach of the team. He needs to stay and apologize to the players," he said. "Not be able to leave. That was our biggest thing."
Phelps went to the hospital and was scanned for a concussion, and upon his release later Saturday evening decided to press charged against the coach. "If there are no consequences, this can continue," he says."
FOX 4 spoke to the coach by phone on Monday, where he admitted his role in the confrontation and hopes he can one day shake Phelps' hand and apologize. "I don't want to destroy anyone's life," Phelps said. "But I would like this to be a learning opportunity to get this out there."
24 Sports, the organization hosting the tournament, did announce that the coach and his team are now banned from participating in future tournaments.
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