Punish adults, not the kids, in aftermath of youth baseball brawl

You’d think 7-year-olds would be more responsible.

If they’re going to play in an organized baseball league, these youngsters should be able to take care of unusual situations.

Like, say, if their parents and relatives all begin punching each other.

C’mon, kids, get hold of the mess and sort it out.

Yes, I’m being sarcastic.

How many times do we have to read and hear about adults going berserk at their children’s games, and basically starting a riot?

The latest embarrassment happened in suburban Denver, where 11 grown-ups (I’m using that word with a sneer) and a teenager have been hauled in by police after throwing uppercuts and delivering MMA kicks to each other because…

Um…

Because a 13-year-old umpire noted that one team was batting out of order.

The ump, Josh Cordova, made the correct call — but apparently a whole gang of moms and dads right out of “Leave it to Beaver” didn’t quite grasp the rule.

SO THEY started yelling.

First at Cordova. Then at each other.

When that wasn’t convincing enough, they decided that only beating each other to a pulp would settle their little dispute.

The 7-year-old players, predictably, just got the hell out of the way and let their families slug it out.

Eventually, the Lakewood Police Department identified 12 instigators from a video and issued citations.

You can see the blow-by-blow on YouTube, but I suggest you pass. It will just make you wonder whether some people should have faded out of the gene pool long ago.

It actually gets worse, believe it or not.

Two of the adults in the brawl are Denver city employees, and their bosses must be SO proud.

OK, now in the aftermath of this mess — and we see way too many of these things around the country — there was a bit of good news, but also a whopping disappointment.

The pleasant piece was that Cordova, the 13-year-old ump who was trying to keep the peace at the risk of life and limb, was invited to a Colorado Rockies-Dodgers game by veteran MLB umpire Chris Guccione.

Guccione and his crew wanted to show their support — for Cordova and for all amateur umps who take FAR more abuse than is even remotely fair.

NOW COMES the bad news.

League officials in Lakewood have cancelled the rest of the season in the Bear Creek Youth Sports Association.

Say what?

That’s backwards.

Totally.

Punish the 7-year-olds who didn’t do anything but feel embarrassed for their folks, and let the adults — who got the equivalent of parking tickets — just take the fight to an empty lot someplace?

No!

Let’s do this the other way around.

Play out the season (with Cordova umpiring his regular schedule of games), but with no adult spectators.

Let the kids play some ball, which is all they wanted to do in the first place.

Why should they take the fall for some idiotic parents and relatives, who nearly caused some serious injuries?

Should the 7-year-olds’ season be over because some supposed grown-ups got into fisticuffs over whether or not a little boy or girl batted out of turn?

That’s just another group of adults punishing the kids again.

Do it right, please!

The kids should play…

While the parents stay home wearing ankle bracelets.

Meanwhile, everyone here in Kootenai County should save this story and clip it to the fridge.

I’d like to think we wouldn’t go nuts like that mob in Colorado, but…

Just in case.

Because it should never happen.

Anywhere.

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns for The Press appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Steve also contributes the “Zags Tracker” package on Gonzaga basketball once monthly during the offseason.

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