A video that shows an altercation between a parent and a Cincinnati coach at a youth baseball game has been viewed more than 300,000 times on social media.
The incident reportedly happened at a baseball tournament in Indianapolis this past weekend, though the coach involved was part of a Cincinnati-area league called the Cincy Flames. The league is well-known for being a select baseball program.
Some former Flames players, like Kyle Schwarber, now play Major League Baseball.
The video, shot on a cellphone, is about a minute long. It shows a coach, now identified as Paul Melvin, carrying a baseball bat and running towards a man in red. There is scuffling and shouting back and forth with people heard in the background saying things like, "There are kids around here," and "Get him out of here."
Eventually, the crowd starts to separate while the two men walk off in opposite directions, and the video ends.
Melvin, at the time of the video, was the coach of a Cincy Flames 13-and-under team that was playing against an Indiana team. Flames founder and chairman Jay Basil said he wasn't there for the tournament and didn't witness what happened, but was told by people at the game that a parent from the opposing team was "inebriated" and was using lots of profanity towards the coach and around the players, prompting Melvin's reaction.
However, Basil said that whatever happened prior to the start of the video doesn't matter because Melvin's behavior has "no place in youth sports." Within 10 minutes of watching the video for the first time on Sunday, Basil said he removed Melvin from his volunteer coaching position.
Basil said it didn't take long to decide what the proper course of action was going to be because Melvin's behavior is something they would never condone or tolerate.
FOX19 NOW reached out to Melvin directly, and he said he had no comment. Melvin did make a comment on the Facebook thread attached to the online video, where he wrote that his actions are appalling. He also said that he apologizes from the bottom of his heart and stated that he agrees with the Flames' decision 110 percent.
The man who recorded and posted the viral video did not want to comment or be identified, and the name of the parent involved in the altercation has not been confirmed.
Basil said that assistant coaches will now be taking over the 13U Flames team for the rest of the season.
Basil also said the Indianapolis venue does serve alcohol at youth events, which to him, is not a good combination.
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