Shocking moment Florida dad, 41, dork punches umpire during son’s high school baseball game
Shocking moment Florida dad, 41, dork punches umpire during son’s high school baseball game
- Jorge Ignacio Aponte-Gonzalez was arrested after allegedly punching a military veteran umpire at his son’s high school baseball game last month
- He threw the punch at the unsuspecting official after getting into a fight with his child, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said
- Aponte-Gonzalez was booked in Osceola County Jail on $1,500 bail and is charged with battery use by a sports official
A 41-year-old father has been arrested after allegedly punching a military veteran umpire during his son’s high school baseball game last month.
Jorge Ignacio Aponte-Gonzalez threw the punch at the unsuspecting official after he got into a fight with his child, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said.
Shocking footage shows the moment when the umpire, a 63-year-old military veteran, was attacked from behind and left unconscious.
Aponte-Gonzalez was booked in the Osceola County Jail on his $1,500 bail and is charged with battery on a sports official and disrupting a school function.
Jorge Ignacio Aponte-Gonzalez, 41, was arrested after allegedly punching a military veteran umpire at his son’s high school baseball game last month
According to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, he allegedly berated the unsuspecting officer after he got into a fight with his child.
Aponte-Gonzalez was booked in the Osceola County Jail on his $1,500 bail and is charged with battery on a sports official and disrupting a school function
The incident started when Aponte-Gonzalez’s son started arguing with the referee during the match and the referee told the child to calm down.
He then walked to a gate near the Kissimmee field to wait for a colleague to take over for a few innings as usual.
But a video shows the suspect walking towards the referee before striking him from behind and knocking him to the ground.
The parents and players present, shocked by the incident, rushed to help the unconscious victim onto the field.
Osceola County Sheriff Marco Lopez said, “Obviously the umpire will maintain control of the game because that is what they are supposed to do.
‘Make sure that children learn everything about sports behaviour.
“The boy was disruptive, so the referee said, ‘Hey, take it easy,’ while maintaining control.
“They kind of went back and forth. I don’t know exactly what was exchanged, but… that upset the father.’
A video shows the suspect walking towards the referee before striking him from behind and knocking him to the ground
Aponte-Gonzalez allegedly told arresting officers he was ‘defending my child’ and showed no remorse for what he did
Aponte-Gonzalez allegedly told arresting officers he was “defending my child” and showed no remorse for what he did.
Lopez said, “This umpire is a 63-year-old man. He’s a veteran. A US military veteran.
“He’s doing this because he’s passionate about baseball and likes to give back to his community. He likes to spend his time with baseball and kids.”
The sheriff spoke to the victim, who said he wants the suspect prosecuted so that other youth referees and officials are not subject to similar violence.
“There shouldn’t be a parent behaving like that in public,” Lopez said.
He called Aponte-Gonzalez a “coward” who routinely disrupted other games from the stands.