Umpires pull out of Taunton little league games over alleged harassment, threats

An umpire association reportedly decided to suspend services to a Taunton little league following a confrontation between attendees of a game and the umpires who worked it. 

An “isolated incident” occurred Monday night, according to a statement from Taunton West Little League President Tyler Doehler. This involved some fans trying to approach umpires after the game, according to Doehler. 

“We want to emphasize that this behavior is absolutely unacceptable and does not represent the values and standards we uphold,” Doehler said in the statement. “As a league, we take this matter very seriously. All parties involved in the incident have been suspended from our park indefinitely. We want to ensure that our little league remains a safe and inclusive environment for everyone involved.”

In the wake of the incident, the Greater Taunton Amateur Baseball Umpire Association decided to suspend officiating service to the league, Boston 25 News reported. 

Members of the crowd consistently harassed the two umpires throughout the game, and someone approached the pair and threatened to physically assault them, according to an email from umpire Paul Nadeau obtained by 25 News. 

Nadeau threatened to call the police, but the man allegedly continued to follow the umpires and threaten them, Nadeau told 25 News. 

“In my last 20 years of umpiring, I have never seen an incident like this ever in my life at any level of baseball,” Nadeau reportedly wrote in his email. 

The league attempted to remedy the situation with the umpires’ union, according to Doehler’s statement. 

“We have made every effort to address the situation to the satisfaction of the umpires’ union by suspending the involved parties, offering to play games without spectators, and even paying for a police detail for added security.” Doehler said in his statement. 

But the umpires’ union determined that the league was in breach of its contract because it allowed the harassment to occur without punishment, 25 News reported. The union’s board voted “overwhelmingly” to suspend umpiring service to the league for the rest of the season. The league will now have to rely on volunteers to work games.