The Father of a Florida baseball player was arrested more than two weeks after the game for battering a 63-year-old umpire.
On April 18th, at Liberty High School, where the high school Florida baseball game took place, the umpire was suddenly punched by a parent in central Florida, Osceola County. It happened out of the blue amid the match, when the sports official and some players had verbally argued about something, simply exchanging words. One player’s dad, Jorge Aponte Gonzalez, came to the umpire and started a fistfight, as claimed by Sheriff Marcos R. Lopez from Osceola County Sheriff’s Office at his Press Conference.
There is a video as evidence of a baseless attack, where the offender left his stand and committed a violent crime, “knocking out” the innocent umpire. The victim of the rapid fight was a man aged 63 years old – a US military veteran – waiting for the other referee to replace him on the baseball court. The victim said he had never known this parent before and had no idea why he attacked him.
“This umpire is a 63-year-old man. He’s a veteran, United States military veteran. He’s a disabled veteran. He does this because he has a passion for baseball and likes to give back to his community, and he loves to dedicate his time to baseball and kids. You know, some people find a niche after they retire, and it just keeps them active and healthy. And he is a good man,” said the Osceola County Sheriff about the victim.
In the video, it is visible that there was no reason for the offender to act like that with the umpire. People around were truly upset about what happened to the man.
At least more than two weeks after the incident, 41-year-old Jorge Aponte Gonzalez was arrested and held on a $1,500 bail. But it seems the offender does not take his actions seriously and acts indifferently, not even being sorry for the incident, so he makes no excuses. Moreover, he smiled when being arrested by the Sheriff in the video and said he was simply defending his son.
Considering the Sheriff’s words, Jorge Aponte Gonzalez has shown aggression at other kids’ events but never crossed the line before this occasion. The victim thinks this parent has to be arrested to prevent another violation towards other people.
Speaking of the umpire, although he suffered from unjustified aggression, he is going to umpire again soon. Sheriff Marcos R. Lopez said:
“I spoke to him on the phone. Very nice man, very in good spirits. He basically expressed his concerns. He has a son who’s in the army, who has a passion for baseball, and wants to coach like him and umpire like him. He hopes he never has to go through this. He said he’s going to follow this case to the full extent and prosecution to the fullest. He wants to make sure this guy never does this again to anybody.”
