A disturbing fight erupted between adults at a Little League championship game Monday night in Kentucky, and some people may face charges.
What are the details?
Parents and coaches squared off during the championship game in eastern Kentucky, according to a Tuesday report from the Lexington Herald-Leader. Now some people involved in the incident could face criminal charges. Video of the incident quickly went viral on the internet.
In a video obtained by WKYT-TV, one unidentified male can be seen throwing his hat on the ground while shouting at other people as a second unidentified male rushes the group, takes off his shirt, and begins shoving people.
According to the outlet, Facebook user Destani Renaye Knox shared video of the fight to her social media page, captioning it, "It's really sad these kids that played hard all season and put their hearts on that field didn't get to finish their championship game because 'adults' wanted to act like this."
(Content warning: Rough language):
The outlet identified one of the teams' coaches as Jimmy Smith, who insisted that he did not take part in the fracas.
"I never touched anyone," Smith said in a post on the incident, according to the outlet. "Yes, I was upset over a bad call, but I would never fistfight anyone in front of kids! I will stand up for my team 10/10 times, and you tell me one coach who wouldn't?!?!"
If you're gonna post videos and call me a POS Coach, why don't you show the whole video or tell the entire story! I never touched anyone. Yes, I was upset over a bad call, but I would never fistfight anyone in front of kids! I will stand up for my team 10/10 times, and you tell me one coach who wouldn't?!?! And in this video, I specifically said he dropped the ball while their parents were heckling me!
So I guess the other team didn't like me disputing the call and their coach threw his hat at another coach on my team, and then he got in my face! So get your facts straight!!! There's a video that shows the beginning of the whole incident so hold tight before you bash me because he clearly came at me along with another coach!
And to another post about me only being worried about winning a plastic trophy, well, I could care less about a $5 piece of plastic so take your post, comments, and agenda fitting videos elsewhere! You will not ruin my love for coaching these kids!!! 9/10 most parents and coaches cannot stand playing against this said individual because it's his way or no way, and if he becomes the president of the baseball league, I know several in this county that will not play baseball in the little league program!!!!
GO RANGERS!!!! I LOVE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF MY KIDDOS AND THEY PLAYED GREAT!!!
Steve Randall, which the outlet identified as the coach of the other team, also tagged Smith in a Facebook post and said that the two needed to meet up and work things out.
"Jimmy Smith, you wanna make this right?" he wrote in the post. "At this point all I care about is getting these kids what they deserve. You call me tomorrow and let's schedule a time we can have both teams at the field and hand them their deserved trophy. What you did was wrong, what I did was wrong and it was a disservice to the kids. We name the Rangers and Reds co-champions and be done with it. You go your way I'll go mine. I will be waiting for your phone call tomorrow."
Randall told the outlet that he had yet to hear from Smith as of noon Tuesday.
“It needs to be made right for the kids," he insisted.
Later Tuesday afternoon, Smith took to his Facebook page to issue an apology for raising his voice.
"I want to start by apologizing for raising my voice and disputing a call at last night's game," he wrote. "I accept full responsibility for my actions, and it doesn't represent the love that I have for coaching the kids in our community. To hear people calling me the things they were calling me last night really hurts because, without a doubt, I love all of these kids and enjoy every moment coaching them!"
"Secondly, how about my Rangers!" he gushed. "They came to play last night, and the energy they possessed was top-notch for their age! I'm so proud of all of you, and I love each one of you all!!!! Also, I want to thank all of my coaches and parents for all of your help and support during this season! Without you all, this never happens, and I truly appreciate each one of you! Lastly, I hope there can be an award ceremony for both teams. I'm done with all the negative comments. I'm not going through comments or any tags. I'm man enough to admit I made a mistake last night and share half the blame, and I will gladly shake hands and squash this whole ordeal. GO RANGERS!!!!"
What else?
In a statement, Stanton Police Sgt. Ian Morton said that police are still looking to interview witnesses of the incident, calling it a "dispute between adults.'
“We're going to speak to everybody that we can, and if the (Powell) county attorney recommends charges, that's what we'll do," he told the outlet.
Stanton Parks and Recreation stated that it will work to determine whether administrative penalties will be assessed as a result of the brawl as it took place in a public park.
“Children's sports leagues are meant to be fun activities where children can feel safe while learning a sport ... but more importantly learn good sportsmanship," the department said in a statement. “The display tonight was anything but that."