Three Florida youth coaches have been charged for disorderly conduct for their part in a brawl that broke out at a youth baseball game last week.
A video of the fight went viral on social media, with many calling for the coaches’ suspensions.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office on Monday said they had charged Justin Jamison, Philip Murphy and Samuel Montes-Lopez with disorderly conduct for participating in a fist fight at a 10-and-under baseball game last Thursday night.
“That behavior is never acceptable,” said Captain Michael Branning with BCSO. “Especially when you have younger children out there on a sports team.”
The fight started with verbal altercations and insults directed at children.
According to MyPanhandle.com, Murphy said the game was contentious for the start but didn’t get violent until the end. Murphy can be seen walking away from an altercation on the field when he is approached by Jamison who verbally threatened him.
“I was put in a position where I had to defend myself,” Murphy said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate where this took place and I wish it never happened. That being said I did what I thought I had to do to protect myself from this person who had just told me his intentions.”
Jamison declined to comment.
Branning said his department has a policy of charging individuals involved in these types of incidents.
“Any time we deal with a situation like that, we will charge individuals we identify that are involved and contribute to that kind of behavior,” he said. ”It’s not setting a good example for them or the parents that have to witness all this.”
All three coaches have been suspended from coaching and are banned from attending games for the rest of the season through about the end of the summer, according to Southport and Callaway Youth League boards.
