A coach says a parent at a 9U USSSA tournament in Bradenton, Florida, crossed a line that has nothing to do with balls and strikes. According to a Reddit post in r/Homeplate, an opposing parent filmed the kids and told a first baseman he hated immigrants and would call ICE on them.
- The event: A 9U USSSA tournament in Bradenton, FL, per the coach's account.
- The allegation: An opposing parent recorded players on the other team, then told a first baseman he hates immigrants and would call ICE.
- The impact: Several Latino players on the coach's team cried, according to the post.
- The response: The matter was escalated to the tournament director.
These are nine-year-olds. The average 9U player is still figuring out how to stop airmailing throws to first, and by this account, a grown adult with a phone decided that was the right audience for an immigration threat. Adults are fair game in this space, and an adult filming children while saying this to them is about as far out of bounds as a parent can get.
The post comes from the coach's side, and the parent in question hasn't been identified or heard from in the material available. What's on the record is the coach's description of what happened and the fact that tournament leadership was brought in.
Youth sports organizations generally rely on tournament directors to handle spectator conduct at events like this one. For now, the outcome of the escalation hasn't been reported.
The kids showed up to play baseball. Whatever happens next, that part of the story shouldn't get lost.
Source: Reddit: r/Homeplate