Parents caught on video fighting during youth softball game

Local sports coach responds to brawl

ROANOKE, Va. – Sports can bring out the best in people.

But at a youth softball tournament in Tennessee, it seems to have brought out the worst in the parents caught on video getting into a fight.

Coach Austin D. Jordan, of the Jordan Baseball Academy in Roanoke, saw the viral video.

“I just kind of rolled my eyes and thought, 'This is just ridiculous,'” Jordan said.

Jordan has been involved in youth baseball for more than 20 years.

 He said he has seen a few incidents involving parents during a ballgame, but that particular brawl was an all-time low.

“I've never experienced anything quite at that level,” Jordan said.

Jay Dove counsels families as a minister and goes to games all the time to watch his child play ball.

“It’s kind of hard to imagine seeing parents come to that point,” Dove said.

 Dove believes parents need to remember that there's much more to a game than winning.

“We want our son to learn the game. Most importantly, we want him to have fun. We want him to build character and understand how to compete,” Dove said.

While every child likes to win, and every parent likes seeing their child succeed, flipping out at a game just doesn't work.

“If we're not leading by example, then we are failing our kids,” Jordan said.

After the brawl in Tennessee, both teams were disqualified from the youth softball tournament.