LAKEWOOD, CO – A young umpire is talking about his experience after a brawl broke out between parents at a youth baseball game in Colorado last weekend.
It happened during a 7-year-old youth baseball game in the city of Lakewood, after the 13-year-old umpire, Josh Cordova, gave both teams a conduct warning.
“I issued a warning to both sidelines to watch the language,” Cordova said, “and then one of the teams didn’t find satisfaction in that warning or ruling and so they said, or the coaches started getting in my face before I knew it and they wanted me to change the call, and then one of the Bear Creek coaches stepped in and told everyone to get out of my face and then it just escalated from there.”
Police say parents and coaches started throwing punches as the dispute continued.
“I don’t know, it was kind of intimidating and I was trying to take a step back from the entire situation but they just kept following me and getting closer,” he said.
Cordova said he heard the teams had previous bad blood.
Authorities said as many as 20 adults were involved in the brawl and several were injured, one person seriously.
“Well, it was very chaotic and I was scared,” Cordova said, “not only for me but the 7-year-olds that happened to still be on the field at the time.”
The executive board of the Bear Creek Junior Sports Association says the remainder of the seasons for both youth baseball teams have been canceled due to the fight.
