Local city agencies are investigating after adults allegedly got into a fight during a Little League baseball game in Stanton Monday night.
Video of the incident shared to Facebook shows more than a dozen adults on the baseball field, some of whom are shouting obscenities at each other.
“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,” Destani Renaye Knox wrote in a Facebook post, which included a video of the altercation.
Another video of the incident shared in a Facebook comment appeared to show one man in an argument with several others throw his hat on the ground before another man rushed in, shoved people and took his shirt off.
Hours after the altercation on the field, the dispute continued on social media with people, including coaches, arguing over who was to blame and posting additional videos.
“I never touched anyone,” Jimmy Smith, one of the team’s coaches who appeared to be involved in the dispute, said in a Facebook post. “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?”
The coach of the other team, Steve Randall, tagged Smith in a Facebook post and said they both needed to make things right. Randall also appeared to be involved in the altercation.
“You call me tomorrow and let’s schedule a time we can have both teams at the field and hand them their deserved trophy,” Randall said in the Facebook post to Smith. “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.”
The Stanton Police Department and the Stanton Parks and Recreation Department said in social media posts they were investigating the incident.
“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 parks and recreation department said in a Facebook post. “The display tonight was anything but that.”
Stanton police called the incident a “dispute between adults” and said investigators were “working on understanding the events that led to this incident.”
Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call the Powell County dispatch center at 606-663-4116 or send the Stanton Police Department a message on Facebook.
Stanton Parks and Recreation asked people to share videos from the altercation if they had any available. Officials said they would use the videos to “help determine our disciplinary actions.”
