Should player violence against umpires be a league matter or criminal?

Criminal

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by Solarfinder

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Growing up playing baseball was the dream of most boys that I knew. We used to watch the LA Dodgers all of the time. With the sheer amount of bad calls caused by blind officials that were either out of position, to fat to catch up to the play, or just plain not paying attention. On those occasions, you would see good old Tommy Lasorda hobble out of the dugout and start waving his arms, kicking dirt, and throwing profanities like it was his primary language.

It was funny to watch, what I could only guess, his blood pressure go past the safe level and his face turn so red that you could almost imagine his head to literally blow right off his head. With the ever growing angst in professional sports brought the advent of violence in the lower ranks, which eventually hit little league teams all across the country. I'm not sure when it came cool or when the population became so passe about violence, however, there are stories that feature parents and fans fatally shooting couches and officials everywhere. What are some of the reasons for this type of violence to become normalcy? What happened to parents being the good examples to their children, and no, I do not mean ultimate fighting is ok. Picture this, you 10 year old comes around the corner and say's "Hey Dad, Look at my new move", as he pile drives the pizza guy at the door. "COOL Son, do it agin!", as you start smacking down his mom for ordering sausage instead of ham.

Ok, extreme? Yes, but I've seen similar activities between families on smaller scales. It's this very attitude that seems to dismiss the actual violence that is occuring to those officiating the sports that are supposed to be supporting fair play and support. Why wouldn't we place violence on the field in the same realm as someone that is attacked? If we don't treat violence against anybody, let alone an authority figure, in an equal and fair fasion, the basis of our legal system would lead to anarchy.

My children heard the best phrase on an over watched television show "Hands, Feet, Objects to yourself". No matter how annoying this song is, it has helped me teach my kids how to be passive in today's ever increasingly violent culture. We need to take the necessary steps as parents to show respect, even through we want to kick the hell out of them, to the officals regardless of their obviously biased calls. Ask yourself the following question, If the Umpire hit me with a bat, would I want to send him to jail? If you answered yes to this question, you have your answer to this debate. If you answered no, make sure you stay away from the games that I officiate.

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